Providing alibi for terrorist organizations will no longer be tolerable, says Nirmala Sitharaman at SCO Meet

Beijing, April 24: The whole world has now realized that there are no good terrorists, arguments of political convenience to provide an alibi for terrorist organizations that support terrorism through material support or otherwise are no longer tolerable, said Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while speaking at Shanghai Cooperation Organization Meet in Beijing. 

Addressing the SCO Meet, Defense Minister strongly pitched for ‘world peace and stability’. Nirmala Sitharaman said that "power has become decentralized. New centres of influence have developed, especially in Asia, leading to geo-strategic rivalries. As SCO members, we can work towards greater coordination & move towards peace & stability.”

Our shared neighborhood faces range of issues such as cross-border terrorism, extremism, cyber security & narcotics trafficking. These issues require solutions based on cooperative frameworks that involve all countries & stakeholders, Sitharaman added.

 

Further Nirmala Sitharaman informed that India will participate strongly in SCO’s Peace Mission joint military exercises being held in Russia later this year.We believe that cooperation in SCO framework will help further strengthen India's bilateral defense ties in the region, she added.

A young and dynamic India, with an economy growing at 7-8% per year, joins the SCO, seeking to usher in a new phase of cooperation she said while inviting everyone to work actively with India towards a partnership of peace and shared prosperity.

Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman also held a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister of People's Republic of China Wei Fenghe today in Beijing.

 

Early in day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also addressed SCO Meet and strongly pitched to unitedly combat terrorism and contribute towards sustainable development and world peace.