National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval participated in the meeting of NSAs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday. At the outset, Dovol made it clear again that India expects to enhance cooperation with the SCO member states which are the result of the bonds that have evolved through the centuries. He highlighted the importance of India in Transit Transactions and Passenger Traffic, while it respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the SCO member states.
Doval addressed India’s categorical condemnation of the recent terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22, 2023, that resulted in the death of over 30 people, expressing Indian solidarity in combating terrorism in all its forms. He underlined the fact that terrorism in all its forms and from any group is unacceptable and required an urgent response from the Governments and called for severe punishments of the terrorists involved in cross-border activities.
Again, Doval said “Sponsors, financiers and facilitators of terrorism have to be condemned and must be made accountable”. High-level efforts are needed to reject double standards when dealing with this global problem. He raised a point about continuing threats – posed in the SCO region by many terrorist organizations, including those who are already designated by the United Nations as terrorist groups, like al-Qaeda ISIS, as well as Pakistan-based outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad.
Moreover, the latter talked on about combating the use of technology by the terrorism, such as drones, for illegal cross-border smuggling of arms and drugs. He supported the improvement of coordination between different SCO branches, including the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) to realize the region’s potential in preventing terrorism financing and enabling it to develop stronger capabilities in this area.
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