India, Pak have expanded SCO cooperation: Xi
THERE ARE WORRIES THAT INDIA AND PAKISTAN COULD BRING THEIR BILATERAL DIFFERENCES – OVER KASHMIR AND TERRORISM – TO THE SCO TABLE.
BEIJING: The entry of India and Pakistan into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has enhanced the potential for cooperation and raised expectations from the international community, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said.
Xi’s statement came at a Tuesday meeting of top security officials from SCO countries ahead of the summit, where India and Pakistan will join as full members for the first time.
The meeting came ahead of the SCO summit in the Chinese city of Qingdao, to be held on June 9-10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to take part in the summit.
“The SCO members have fought the ‘three evil forces’ of terrorism, separatism and extremism; prevented the overflow of negative effects from hot issues; and made important contributions to keeping regional peace, development and prosperity” Xi was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper.
The meeting was attended by India’s deputy national security advisor Rajinder Khanna, Pakistan’s NSA Nasser Khan Janjua, and top security officials of the other SCO members.
“Numerous challenges remain, including the ‘three evil forces’ plus drug smuggling and cross-border organised crime, each of which threatens the region,” Xi said.
China’s minister of public security Zhao Kezhi, who presided over the meeting, told reporters that the representatives reached important consensuses during the meeting.
During the meeting with Khanna, Zhao said China would work with India to strengthen high-level mutual visits, improve the cooperation mechanisms, enhance cooperation on anti-terrorism, and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties.
“For his part, Khanna said India stands ready to work with China to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and enhance cooperation on law enforcement security,” the official Xinhua news agency said in a report.