Indian Vice President Says Terrorism Main Threat To Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said that terrorism is the main threat that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries face in the region

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said that terrorism is the main threat that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries face in the region.

The remarks were made at the video conference of SCO Council of Heads of Government chaired by India on Monday.

"The most important challenge faced by us in the region is terrorism, particularly cross-border terrorism. Terrorism is truly the enemy of humanity. It is a scourge we need to collectively combat. India condemns terrorism in all its manifestations. We remain concerned about threats emerging from ungoverned spaces and are particularly concerned about states that leverage terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Such an approach is entirely against the spirit and ideals and the charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," Naidu said in a statement posted Twitter.

The vice president reaffirmed India's commitment to cooperation within SCO, but noted that some countries intended to subject bilateral issues to SCO's consideration which contradicted the principles the organization was based on and might hamper the progress reached within SCO.

Naidu also suggested that SCO established working groups on startups, innovations and traditional medicine to develop new health care projects to address the challenges set by the COVID-19 pandemic. The vice president stressed the significance of traditional medicine systems that "played an important supporting role in providing effective and low cost alternative to save lives."

The 19th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government was held online under India's chairmanship for the first time. India was represented by Naidu. Other participants include prime ministers of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as the Pakistani parliament's secretary for foreign affairs. The meeting was also attended by representatives of four SCO observer states Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia and Turkmenistan as a special guest.