Terrorism, extremism and separatism" being the "three evils," External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday during the 23rd Meeting of the SCO Council that benefits of cooperation and integration may not come if these problems are not sorted out.
"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," said Jaishankar.
Underlining peace and stability as the premise for collective growth, the minister said: "Our endeavours will progress only when our commitment to the Charter remains firm. It is axiomatic that development and growth are required. And as the Charter spelt out, this means being firm and uncompromising in countering the 'three evils'."
He also tossed in an indirect message for Pakistan while stressing the virtues of "good neighbourliness".
"If trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate if the friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address," he said.
Highlighting the challenges before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the EAM said, "The objective is to strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good neighbourliness. It is to develop multi-faceted cooperation, especially of a regional nature."
He said that the Organization pursues its mission to be a positive factor in terms of balanced growth, integration, and conflict prevention. "The Charter was equally clear what the primary challenges were. And these were essentially three, against which the SCO was committed to battle: one, terrorism; two, separatism; and three, extremism, he said.".
Earlier, Jaishankar referred to the very challenging period in world affairs – two major conflicts each with its own global fallout.
"The Covid pandemic has left many in the developing world deeply devastated. Disruptions of various kinds - ranging from extreme climate events to supply chain uncertainties and financial volatility - are impacting growth and development," he said.
He also called upon the SCO to take action on new challenges that range from debt to slow progress in achieving the set targets of SDG.
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