The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should have an “honest conversation” on the lack of trust and neighbourly ties, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday as he took a swipe at China and Pakistan by referring to shortcomings in upholding territorial integrity and tackling terrorism.
Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Islamabad, a day after he became the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in nearly a decade. He represented India at the meeting of the SCO’s second highest decision-making body and addressed a gathering that included Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
The comments came after Sharif suggested the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – long opposed by India for passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) – should be expanded and made part of a “robust SCO connectivity framework”. The SCO doesn’t allow the raising of bilateral matters, though India, Pakistan and China have sparred on such issues at the bloc’s meetings.
Jaishankar pointed to challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas conflict and fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, and disruptions such as extreme climate events, supply chain uncertainties and financial volatility, and suggested solutions can be found in the SCO Charter, which talks of strengthening mutual trust, friendship and good neighbourliness, and developing regional cooperation.
The SCO, according to the Charter, is to be a “positive force in terms of balanced growth, integration and conflict prevention”. The Charter is equally clear on three key challenges that SCO must combat – terrorism, separatism and extremism.
“It is, therefore, essential that we have an honest conversation. If trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate, if friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address,” he said.
In an apparent reference to India’s long-standing accusation that Pakistan is involved in backing cross-border terrorism, Jaishankar said: “If activities across borders are characterised by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel.”
Globalisation and rebalancing have created new opportunities in trade, investment, connectivity, energy flows and other forms of collaboration that can benefit the SCO region, but such cooperation must be based on “mutual respect and sovereign equality”, he said.
This cooperation should also recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty. “It must be built on genuine partnerships, not unilateral agendas. It cannot progress if we cherry-pick global practices, especially of trade and transit,” he said, in an apparent response to Sharif pushing projects such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which India hasn’t joined, and CPEC.
SCO’s endeavours will progress only when commitment to the Charter remains firm. “It is axiomatic that development and growth requires peace and stability. And as the Charter spelt out, this means being firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’,” he said, referring to terrorism, separatism and extremism.
For the SCO to attain its objectives, the bloc must recognise the “current constraints on our cooperation” and focus on the way forward. “It can surely happen when we develop and implement an agenda that is firmly based on an agreed mutuality of interests,” he said.
Jaishankar suggested areas where SCO member states can gain from collaboration, including industrial cooperation to enhance competitiveness and expand labour markets, MSME collaboration for generating employment, and encouraging investment flows.
“Business communities will profit through larger networks. Collaborative connectivity can create new efficiencies. The world of logistics, as indeed of energy, could undergo a sea change. Environmental protection and climate action are ready domains for mutually beneficial exchanges,” he said.
“Whether it is health, food or energy security, we are all clearly better off working together…In effect, there is so much that we can do once we are truly determined to promote that synergy,” he added.
Jaishankar offered to share the benefits of India’s global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Global Biofuel Alliance, and digital public infrastructure.
He pitched for “reformed multilateralism” and comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council in the permanent and non-permanent categories. The UN’s credibility and effectiveness is dependent on representation of developing countries and the “Pact for the Future” adopted at the last UN General Assembly underlines the need to reform the Security Council to make it more inclusive, transparent and accountable.
“The SCO must be in the lead of advocating such change, not hold back on a matter of such importance,” he said.
Sharif, who chaired the meeting, said Pakistan has focused on regional peace and stability and strengthening connectivity and sustainable development while chairing the SCO Council of Heads of Government.
He called for establishing a “robust SCO connectivity framework” to serve as a gateway for regional trade and to enhance Eurasian connectivity. “To this end, projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and International North-South Corridor (INSC) can be expanded to improve connectivity, focusing on roads, railways, and digital infrastructure,” he said.
In an apparent reference to India’s opposition to CPEC, Sharif said such projects shouldn’t be seen through a “narrow political prism” as collective connectivity is crucial for an economically integrated region.
India didn’t join the other nine members of SCO in reaffirming support for China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative in the joint communique issued after the meeting. The bloc includes Belarus, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
China’s Premier Li Qiang, in his speech, called for “pragmatic cooperation” for poverty reduction, digital economy, green development, regional trade and investment facilitation and connectivity and maintaining the stability of industrial and supply chains.
He also called for a proactive response to major risks, including strengthening joint actions to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, and speeding up construction of a comprehensive centre for responding to security threats.
