SCO summit 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russia counterpart Vladimir Putin, Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) nations at a virtual summit of the bloc.

SCO members adopt ‘New Delhi declaration’

“As the outcome of the Summit, the leaders adopted the New Delhi Declaration and two thematic joint statements – one on cooperation in countering the radicalisation leading to separatism, extremism and terrorism & the second one cooperation in the field of digital transformation…,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said after SCO Summit.

What is ‘New Delhi declaration’?

“New Delhi declaration” coined by the Indian government proposed at SCO summit to fight against terrorism. It also proposed four other joint statements on de-radicalisation, sustainable lifestyle to tackle climate change, production of millets and digital transformation.

Putin supports ‘New Delhi Declaration’

Underlining the need for counter-terrorism and counter-radicalism, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported ‘New Delhi Declaration’ in the SCO meeting. Putin also thanked PM Modi for organising the summit. “I would like to thank PM Modi, for organising this Summit. Implementation of a lot of documents and the decisions that were prepared for this Summit. Russia supports the New Delhi declaration which gives a consolidated approach to international issues. We will continue to strengthen ties with SCO member states.”

PM Modi’s dig at China, Pakistan

In a veiled reference to Pakistan and China, PM Modi told leaders of the SCO nations that they must not hesitate to criticise countries supporting cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy and there must not be any “double standards” in combating terrorist activities.

Chairing the summit, Modi talked about the growing importance of the SCO and said, “It is our shared responsibility to understand each other’s needs and sensitivities and resolve all challenges through better cooperation and coordination.”

The remarks came amid the lingering border row between India and China.

The virtual summit under India’s presidency was attended by leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran as well.

(With PTI inputs)

Also read- SCO Summit 2023: Terrorism is threat to regional and global peace, says PM Modi

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