SCO summit: Xi stresses on enhancing BRI cooperation; India says connectivity should respect territorial integrity

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In his address at the Shanghai Cooperation (SCO) meeting on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing’s stand of enhancing Belt and Road cooperation.

He was virtually addressing the SCO meeting of heads of state and talked about “high-quality Belt and Road cooperation” with development strategies of various countries and regional cooperation initiatives, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Xinhua News Agency, or New China News Agency, is the official news agency of the People’s Republic of China.
Addressing the 23rd SCO summit, Xi Jinping said, “Efforts should be made to further promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, speed up the development of port infrastructure and regional and international logistic corridors, and ensure stable and smooth functioning of regional industrial and supply chains.

“Ten years ago, I proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, and on its tenth anniversary, China will hold the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.

However, India has said that although connectivity is very important, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the countries should be respected.

“Prime Minister clearly said in his remarks that connectivity is important for SCO member states. But connectivity has to be respectful of sovereignty and territorial integrity. India’s position on the BRI has been clear,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said while addressing the briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.

PM Modi, in an apparent dig at Pakistan and China, called on member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to maintain respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity while pursuing connectivity initiatives.

“Strong connectivity is crucial for the progress of any region. Better connectivity not only enhances mutual trade but also fosters mutual trust. However, in these efforts, it is essential to uphold the basic principles of the SCO charter, particularly respecting the sovereignty and regional integrity of the Member States,” PM said while chairing the SCO summit.

The SCO summit, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, concluded with the virtual participation of the heads of state from all SCO nations.

India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit of SCO on September 16 last year. The theme of India’s Chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is ‘SECURE-SCO’. (ANI)