Modi Urges Sco To Face Fuel, Food, Fertilizer Challenges

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW DELHI, July 4 (KUNA) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon Shanghai Cooperation Council (SCO) members on Tuesday to fight terrorism and face challenges in the fields of fuel, food and fertilizer.
Modi was addressing the virtual Shanghai Cooperation Council Summit that New Delhi hosted today with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in attendance.
"At present, the global situation is at a critical juncture. In a world engulfed by conflicts, tensions and pandemics, the food fuel and fertilizer crisis is a major challenge for all countries. We must think together that whether we as an organization can meet the expectations and aspirations of our people," he said.
He also pitched for modernization of the SCO to meet future challenges. "Are we able to meet the modern challenges? Is SCO becoming an organization that is fully prepared for the future? In this regard, India supports the proposal for improvement and modernization in SCO," he said.
Addressing the summit, Putin said that his country will not budge before the Western pressure, sanctions and provocations and Russia is standing more united now. He noted that Moscow is in support of settlement of foreign trade in local currencies and pledged to boost ties with the SCO. He also warned of potential conflicts and a possible global economic crisis. "I would like to thank PM Modi for organising this summit. Russia supports the New Delhi declaration which gives a consolidated approach to international issues," the Russian President said.
He also urged SCO to focus on Afghanistan. "Another focus of the SCO is the current situation in Afghanistan. The situation regrettably is not becoming better. The SCOs priority must be counter terrorism, counter radicalism, extremism and to counter drug trafficking," Putin said.
In his address, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged SCO member countries to protect regional peace and security. He also called upon member countries to focus on pragmatic cooperation to help economic recovery.
Xi also underlined efforts to sustain multilateralism and improve global governance. He appealed to oppose hegemony in a veiled reference to the US and urged to bring in fair and equitable global governance. He also urged to SCO members to cooperate with the Belt and Road Initiative as a means to promote development strategies of many countries and regional cooperation initiatives.
On his part, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif appealed for united efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region saying it a common concern and responsibility of all SEO members. He added that this can be achieved only if stability is brought into Afghanistan. "The cascade of unmet expectations has meant that critical support needed by Afghanistan to ward off a grave humanitarian crisis, prevent an economic meltdown and to combat terrorism has been withheld. This policy needs an urgent reset. The international community should meaningfully engage with the interim Afghan government to take the next steps," the Pakistan PM said. Today Iran formally joined the SCO as a full member, which so far has China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as members and Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia as observer states. (end)
atk.hb

MENAFN08072023000071011013ID1106573197