Flagging terrorism as the most serious threat to international peace and security, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday reaffirmed India’s resolve to fight this scourge in all its forms and manifestations.
Making this assertion while addressing the defence ministers’ conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO)in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, he also said “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 emphasised that India accords high priority to the consolidation of trust in the security domain within the SCO as well as strengthening ties with SCO partners bilaterally on the basis of equality, mutual respect and understanding.
He congratulated Member-States of the SCO on successful completion of 20 years of its existence. He said 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 and reaching out, he pointed out that it is in the same spirit India helps people of Afghanistan, which is facing violence and devastation over decades. So far, India has 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 India that makes it both a Eurasian land power and also a stake-holder in the Indo-Pacific, Rajnath said the country’s aspirations are therefore focused towards prosperity and development of the entire region.