Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should deepen mutual trust and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and consultations, while firmly dealing with terrorist, separatist and extremist forces.
Addressing the Council of Heads of State of the SCO grouping via video link, Xi said that history has proved and will continue to prove that good, neighbourly friendship will go beyond a beggar-thy-neighbour approach, mutually beneficial cooperation will take over the zero-sum game and multilateralism will prevail over unilateralism.
“We need to deepen solidarity and mutual trust and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and consultations,” Xi said in remarks in the backdrop of the over six-month-long border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the eight-member SCO grouping attended the virtual summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We need to act on the vision of common, comprehensive and sustainable security, address all forms of threats and challenges effectively and foster a sound security atmosphere in our region, he said.
Countries of the SCO should “resolutely oppose external forces’ interfering in their internal affairs under any pretext,” Xi said.
SCO members should firmly support countries concerned in law-based efforts to steadily advance major domestic political agenda. Firmly support countries in safeguarding political security and social stability and firmly oppose interference by external forces in the domestic affairs of SCO members under whatever pretext, he said.
In order to cement the political foundation for SCO development it is important to foil terrorist, separatist and extremists attempt to exploit the pandemic for disruption, curb the proliferation of drugs, crackdown on internet-based propagation of extremist ideology and deepen SCO members law enforcement cooperation, he said.
“It is import we support biosecurity, data security and outer space security and engage in active communication and dialogue in this field , he said.
The SCO founding members are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were admitted into the grouping in 2017.
The SCO summit over video link is being organised by Russia, which will also host a virtual summit of BRICS, (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) leaders on November 17.
India is also set to host the virtual meeting of the SCO Heads of the Government on November 30 in which Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to take part.
On the fight against COVID-19, Xi said SCO countries should set up a hotline among their centres for disease control, and China is ready to consider in a proactive approach to the needs of countries for COVID-19 vaccines.
It is necessary to strengthen joint forces among countries in prevention and controls, support each other’s fight against the epidemic, and further promote exchanges and cooperation in such areas as epidemic surveillance, scientific research, disease prevention and treatment, Xi said. PTI

Press Trust of India