Modi gave new acronym ‘SECURE’
AMN / Qingdao (China)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underlined the need of security and connectivity at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) summit here.
Addressing the plenary session, Mr Modi gave a new acronym to SECURE. He said, S stands for security of citizens, E for Economic Development for all, C for connecting the region, U – uniting the people, R – respect among nations and E – Environmental protection.
Prime Minister also said, Afghanistan was an unfortunate example of the effects of terrorism. He expressed hope that the brave steps taken by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani towards peace will be respected by all in the region.
Mr Modi said, that connectivity with their neighbourhood in the SCO region is India’s priority. He called for setting up a road map for the 25th anniversary of SCO in 2026.
The Prime Minister asserted that only six percent of foreign tourists in India are from SCO countries, which he said can be doubled easily by increasing awareness about the shared cultures. Mr Modi also said, added that SCO food and Buddhist festivals will be organised in India.
In his address, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, Beijing remains committed to tackling terrorism, extremism and separatism as in the vision of SCO. He said, China will set up legal support system to aid SCO agencies and promised to train thousands to help law enforcement agencies. Earlier in the day, before the summit began, all the heads of SCO countries had a restricted meeting.
Later today, Mr Modi will have bilateral meetings with the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Yesterday, Mr Modi met with the Chinese President after arriving in Qingdao on a 2-day visit. Both sides signed two agreements, one on continuing to share Brahmaputra water data during the flood season and the other on exporting non-Basmati rice to China. The two countries also set a trade target of 100 billion dollars by 2020.
Photo tweeted by MEA India