Member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday decided on joint measures to meet the challenges posed by international terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan.
This resolve was undertaken at a council meeting here of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) of the SCO. The meeting was attended by senior officials of all the member nations, including China and Pakistan.
India's Deputy National Security Advisor Dattatray Padsalgikar said the meeting also decided to organise a military exercise called "Solidarity- 2023" next year.
It is likely to take place in China. Joint measures of the competent authorities of the member states of the SCO to counter the challenges and threats posed by international terrorist organisations from the territory of Afghanistan were approved, Padsalgikar said at a media briefing. India hosted the meeting in its capacity as the chair of SCO-RATS. He said the meeting also considered the course of implementation of earlier decisions of SCO-RATS.
"The work plans of the SCO-RATS Executive Committee, as well as the activities of the group of technical experts of the competent authorities of the SCO member states, expert groups in the areas of border cooperation and countering the use of the Internet for terrorist, separatist and extremist purposes were approved," Padsalgikar said India handed over chairmanship of the SCO-RATS to Kazakhstan at the meeting, he added.