SCO Summit: Develop a Template to Fight Radicalisation and Extremism, PM

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SCO Summit: Develop a Template to Fight Radicalisation and Extremism, PM

Addressing virtually the 21st meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday called for developing a template by SCO to effectively deal with the challenges of extremism and radicalisation. “The 20th anniversary of SCO is right time to think about future of SCO. The biggest challenges in this area are related to-peace, security and trust deficit. And root cause of these problems is the increasing radicalisation. Recent developments in Afghanistan have made challenge posed by radicalisation more clear. The SCO should develop a shared template to fight radicalism and extremism.”

The meeting, being hosted by Tajikistan, also saw the inclusion of Iran as a new member of the SCO. Modi welcomed the move and also praised the step to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar as new dialogue partners of the regional organisation.

 

Importance of moderate Islam in Central Asia

The Prime Minister stressed upon the importance of moderate Islam in Central Asia and urged the member- countries to counter religious extremism and radicalisation. “Historically, this region has been a fortress of progressive and moderate cultural traditions. Sufi order prospered here for centuries. This tradition grew here and was spread across the world. Based on this historic heritage of Central Asia, the SCO should develop a common template to fight radicalisation and extremism,” he asserted. Radicalisation and extremism has been a barrier to development in the region and urged the member-countries to promote “rational thinking”.

Modi praised the counter-terror work that had been carried out by the RATS mechanism of the SCO. He remarked that India expected to receive cooperation from the SCO members on the suggestions that it had made at the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which is headquartered in Tashkent.

Connectivity with Central Asia: Modi  also said that India is committed to increasing its connectivity with Central Asia. Asserting that there should be respect for the territorial integrity of all countries, PM Modi said, “We believe that landlocked Central Asian countries can benefit immensely by connecting with India’s vast market. Any connectivity initiative cannot be one-way. To ensure mutual trust, connectivity projects should be consultative, transparent and participatory. There should be respect for the territorial integrity of all countries,” he added.

India as stakeholder in an emerging technology: Taking about the ways to make India a stakeholder in an emerging technology, the prime minister said, “We must encourage our talented youngsters towards science & rational thinking. We can bring our startups & entrepreneurs together to make the innovative spirit towards making India a stakeholder in an emerging technology.”

The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, is an eight-member economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

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