Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra
According to Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) adopted the Delhi declaration and two thematic joint statements on cooperation in the field of digital transformation and countering radicalization that leads to extremism, terrorism, and separatism.
He added that at the SCO summit, which India was hosting, the emphasis was on involving stakeholders outside of the government, which resulted in the planning of several meetings, activities, and events during the previous nine months.
Addressing the briefing upon the conclusion of the SCO summit, Vinay Kwatra said, “As the outcome of the summit, the leaders admitted one Delhi declaration and two thematic joint statements — one on cooperation in countering radicalisation leading to separatism, extremism and terrorism, and the second one cooperation in the field of digital transformation. Besides the leaders signed a total of 10 decisions. Essentially the outcomes that are aimed at furthering the cooperation among SCO nations”.
While reiterating PM Modi’s vision for SCO, he said, “When India assumed the presidency of SCO last year, after the Samarkand summit, PM Modi had articulated India’s priority towards the theme of SECURE SCO, standing for; Security, Economic Development, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environmental Protection.”
As part of India’s initiatives, two new mechanisms were created within the SCO: the Special Working Group on startups and innovation, and an expert-level working group on medicine. The first meetings for these mechanisms will be held later in the year.
“During India’s presidency, it hosted more than 134 events in the last 9 months and an unprecedented level of engagement with the dialogue partners and observer nations. There were in total 15 ministerial-level meetings, and four heads of agencies meetings across different areas,” he added.
The Foreign Secretary also highlighted five initiatives proposed by India adopted at these ministerial-level meetings
“First was on the development of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for the promotion of digital technologies among the population in particular on digital innovation and inclusion. This was echoed by almost all leaders at the summit proceedings. Two, on the cooperation between SCO members on emerging fuels. Three, working together to combat the challenges of climate change, plastic pollution, air pollution, marine plastic litter with focus on resource efficiency and circular economy,” he said.
Kwatra added, “Related to that, actions oriented sequence like decarbonising, digital transformation and innovative technologies, for efficiency and higher sustainability through cooperation among the SCO member states. Lastly, the first-ever report on digital financial inclusion policies in the SCO member states”.
The Foreign Secretary said that in addition to governmental engagements, socio-cultural activities and youth-oriented events were organized to involve stakeholders from SCO member nations beyond the government.
Additionally, a sizable portion of socio-cultural events were present. The SCO millet festival, SCO film festival, SCO cultural showcase at Surajkund Mela, SCO Tourism Mart, and SCO conference on traditional medicine in a Business-to-Business format were among them. The SCO member countries responded to all of this in a surprising and forceful way, he stated.
“We also organised many activities targeted at the youth population, such as Young Scientists Conclave, Young Authors Conclave, SCO Young Resident Scholar Programme, SCO start-up Forum, SCO Youth Council, and SCO role of youth in community development,” Kwatra continued.
The chiefs of state from all SCO countries virtually participated in the conclusion of the summit, which was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the Samarkand Summit, India assumed the SCO’s rotating chairmanship of SCO on September 16 last year. The theme of India’s Chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is ‘SECURE-SCO’.
(This story has not been edited by Bharat Express staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
