New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei K Shoigu on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on Friday (April 28).
The two Ministers discussed wide-ranging issues of bilateral defence cooperation, including military-to-military ties as well as industrial partnership. Both the ministers discussed the Russian defence industry’s participation in the ‘Make in India’ initiative and ways to provide further impetus to it.
‘Reiterated commitment strengthening defence partnership’
“The two Ministers also discussed matters on regional peace and security. They expressed satisfaction over the continued trust and mutual respect between the two countries, particularly in defence and reiterated their commitment towards strengthening the partnership. They acknowledged the unique, long-lasting and time-tested relationship between India and Russia,” the statement said.
Bilateral meetings with Uzbek, Belarusian, Kyrgyz
Singh also held bilateral meetings with his Uzbek, Belarusian and Kyrgyz counterparts on the sidelines of SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.
The entire gamut of defence cooperation with the three countries was reviewed during the meetings, with a focus on identifying beneficial avenues for furthering bilateral ties. Issues of mutual interest were also discussed.
Secretary General of SCO Zhang Ming also called on the Raksha Mantri upon the completion of the SCO Defence Minister’s meeting. Various activities undertaken by India under its chairmanship were discussed. Shri Rajnath Singh informed the Secretary General that India is committed to contributing constructively to the implementation of the mandate of SCO.
Rajnath Singh chairs SCO defence ministers’ meeting
Rajnath Singh chaired the SCO meeting. Defence Ministers of Russia, China and other member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) deliberated on pressing regional security challenges and related issues at a conclave hosted by New Delhi.
Addressing the Defence Ministers of SCO member countries, Singh asserted that any kind of terrorist act or support to it in any form is a major crime against humanity and peace and prosperity cannot coexist with this menace. “If a nation shelters terrorists, it not only poses a threat to others, but for itself too. Radicalisation of youth is a cause of concern not only from the point of view of security, but it is also a major obstacle in the path of socio-economic progress of society. If we want to make the SCO a stronger & more credible international organisation, our top-most priority should be to effectively deal with terrorism,” the Raksha Mantri said.
Importance of PM Modi’s ‘SECURE’ initiative
Singh elaborated on the concept of ‘SECURE’ (S – Security of citizens, E – Economic development for all, C – Connecting the region, U – Uniting the people, R – Respect for Sovereignty and Integrity, and E – Environmental protection) floated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SCO summit in Qingdao, China in 2018. He stated that every alphabet of the word ‘SECURE’ reflects India’s commitment towards the multi-dimensional welfare of the region.
Singh drew the attention of the defence ministers to the large part of the world suffering from a food crisis and urged during the conclave to ensure food security under an integrated plan. “This will establish SCO as a role model for the whole world, he said. To deal with the issue of climate change, he called for working on a common strategy, giving priority to mitigation and adaptation. Energy security should be a part of the common strategy,” he added.
He explained what every alphabet stands for in ‘SECURE’ and said ‘S’ stands for ‘security of citizens’, ‘E’ stands for ‘economic development for all’, ‘C’ stands for ‘connecting the region’, ‘U’ stands for ‘uniting the people’, ‘R’ stands for ‘respect for Sovereignty and Integrity’ and ‘E’ stands for ‘environmental protection’.
SCO meeting
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization that was founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001. The main goals of the SCO are to strengthen mutual trust and good neighbourliness among member states and promote their effective cooperation in political, trade, economic, and other areas.
SCO has eight member states which include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Besides the full 8 members, the SCO has four “observer states” interested in acceding to full membership, and six “dialogue partners”. Observer states are Mongolia, Iran, Belarus and Afghanistan while the Dialogue partners are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Turkey, Nepal, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.