Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (November 10) slammed Pakistan without naming and said that repeated attempts are being made to unnecessarily bring bilateral issues into the SCO agenda.
In his virtual address at the 20th Summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State, PM Modi said “It is unfortunate that there are unnecessary attempts to bring bilateral issues in the SCO agenda, which is in violation of SCO Charter and Shanghai spirit” adding that India has always been resolute working in sync with the principles laid out in the SCO charter.
In an indirect attack at Pakistan, Prime Minister Modi said “We have always raised our voice against terrorism, smuggling of illegal arms, drugs and money laundering.”
Prime Minister Modi also sent a message to China by saying that member nations must respect each other’s sovereignty.
“India has strong cultural and historical ties with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries. India believes that to enhance connectivity it is important that we move forward while respecting one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Modi said in his address at the SCO summit.”
Speaking at the SCO Summit. https://t.co/WS136xN3Vz
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 10, 2020
PM Modi also pitched for a reformed multilateralism that reflects today’s global realities.
The 20th summit of SCO Summit Council Heads is happening virtually due to the COVID19 pandemic. Russian President Vladirmir Putin is the Chairperson for this edition. This was the first time PM Modi and China’s Xi shared the platform virtually after the Galwan Valley incident.