Dushanbe(Tajikistan)28July.Raksha Mantri Mr Rajnath Singh said, Terrorism is the mostserious threat to international peace and security. “Any act of terror and support to such acts, including cross border terrorism, committed by whomsoever, wherever and for whatever motives, is a crime against humanity,” he added.
Mr Rajnath Singh addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting in Dushanbe.The Raksha Mantri reaffirmed India’s resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Mr Rajnath Singh emphasised, “India accords high priority to the consolidation of trust in the security domain within SCO as well as strengthening ties with SCO partners bilaterally on the basis of equality, mutual respect and understanding.” The challenge today is not just one of concepts and norms, but equally of their sincere practice, he added.
Raksha Mantri congratulated Member-States of the SCO on successful completion of 20 years of its existence.He said that though India joined the organisation in 2017, historical and civilisational relations and geographical connects make India inseparable from the SCO.
Stressing on the importance of the regional group, Shri Rajnath Singh
said, “The SCO Nations, together, encompass nearly half the human population on
our planet. In terms of geography, it covers approximately three fifths of the
Eurasian continent.We, therefore, have collective stakes to create a safe,
secure and stable region that contributes towards progress and improvement of
human development indices of our people and the generations which will follow.”He
pointed out that it is in the same spirit India helpspeople of Afghanistan,
which is facing violence and devastation over decades. So far India completed
500 projects in Afghanistan and continuing with some more with total
development aid of US dollar 3 billion.
Speaking about geo-strategic location of Indiathat makes it both a
Eurasian land power and also a stake-holder in the Indo-Pacific, the Raksha
Mantri said, “Our intent and aspirations are therefore focused towards
prosperity and development of the entire region.We affirm this intent through
our national policy of Security and Growth for All in the Region, commonly
known by the acronym SAGAR.”Security and Stability are most essential
components to create conducive environment for growth and economic development
of the region and of our respective Nations, he added.
Mr Rajnath Singh said the Armed Forces and the Defence Research and Development
Organisation played a stellar role in efforts against Covid-19. He said, “…During
the global pandemic, India was able to provide support and assistance to
countries around the world. This includes 6.6 crore doses of vaccines to 90
countries, support with medicine, medical consumables and equipment to 150
countries. We may mention the massive ‘Vande Bharat’ logistic service to move
over 70 lakh stranded people, including foreigners, mostly by air route, but
also by our ships in the Indian Ocean.”
Raksha Mantri assured, “India plans to produce well over 250 crore doses
of vaccines between August and the end of 2021.We are determined to vaccinate
at least 90 crore adult Indians and to help other friendly countries with
vaccine.”
The Raksha Mantri called upon Member-Nations to evolve to meet the needs
of its time. He said, “No institution,
howsoever important, can remain frozen at the moment of its foundation.The
inherent strength of SCO lies in the fact that Member-States participate in
cooperation programme at their own pace and as per respective national
policies.We are glad that SCO has evolved as truly an international organisation
of significance.” Event of today is yet another step towards strengthening
stability and security in the region.
This will serve to further development of multilateral cooperation
within the SCO format, he added.