India focuses on terror, connectivity, Afghanistan at SCO Foriegn Ministers meet

NEW DELHI, May 22 Terror, connectivity and Afghanistan were the main focus areas for India during External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj statement at the Shanghai Co-task Organization (SCO) Foriegn Ministers meet in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Recalling the Sri Lanka terror attack on April 21, Swaraj stated, "Our wounds of Pulwama attack were still raw and the news from the neighborhood has made us more determined to fight firmly resolutely against this menace."

SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure or RATS has emerged as a significant discussion for counter-terror cooperation and India has called for making it more effective. On connectivity, India discussed 5 connectivity activities the International North-South Transport Corridor that will connect Mumbai with Moscow, Chabahar Port that will interface India to afghanistan and past, the Ashgabat Agreement for central asia connectivity, the India Afghanistan air corridor and towards the east the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. However, New Delhi said the connectivity projects needs to be, "inclusive, sustainable, transparent and respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity", a comment that questions Chinese Belt & road initiative that is causing debt crisis in many countries participating in it.

Lastly on Afghanistan, Sushma Swaraj stated, "India stands committed to any process" which can help "Afghanistan to rise as an assembled, quiet, secure, stable, inclusive and economically vibrant nation, with guaranteed gender and human rights." Comments on Afghanistan comes in the backdrop of Delhi's increased engagement with stakeholders such as US, China, Iran and Russia on the Afghan peace process.

This is the last high level engagement of Sushma Swaraj in a foriegn nation as the external affairs minister under the present government. This is the second SCO FMs meet in which New Delhi is participating as a full member of SCO, the last being in April last year in Beijing.

During the SCO FMs meet on Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani partner Shah Mahmood Qureshi met for first time since the Pulwama terror attack on 14th February whose obligation was taken by Pakistan based UN listed terror group Jaish e Mohammad. On expected lines, no meeting happened between the 2 India Pakistan ministers.

The last time both ministers were under same roof was during informal SAARC meet on the sidelines of United Nation General Assembly in New York in 2018. India got full membership of the grouping along with Pakistan in 2017 amid the Astana summit of SCO with the process starting during 2015SCO summit in Russia.

The SCO FMs meet comes weeks before the SCO leaders summit in Kyrgyzstan in which the new Indian Prime Minister will be participating. Focus in that summit will be on his possible meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping or if New Indian PM might want to meet his Pakistani counterpart- Pakistani PM Imran Khan.