Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Karnataka
|
India will strive to strengthen regional cooperation, says Krishna | Asserting the need for connectivity between
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries is, External Affairs Minister
S.M. Krishna on Thursday said India is ready to cooperate with regional countries
in an endeavour to build bridges between Central and South Asia . Addressing the
SCO Heads of State Summit here, Krishna said: "The SCO needs to address the problem
of connectivity through regional solutions to encourage trade and investment flows
between our countries. India is ready to cooperate with regional countries to
find viable solutions to this problem and contribute to the endeavour to build
bridges between Central and South Asia . The International North South Transport
Corridor, which we are re-energising, is one such effort in this direction." He
further said: "Members and observers of the SCO can prosper by mutual sharing
of experiences and best practices. India is already engaged with the SCO member
states in areas such as information technology, management, and entrepreneurship
development." "We will be happy to share with SCO countries our unique experience
in specific areas of economic endeavour, such as banking, capital markets, micro-finance,
small and medium enterprises," he added. Emphasising that India admired the SCO
and values its contribution over the past decade, to peace, stability and prosperity
in the region, Krishna said: "As the SCO prepares for the next decade of its journey,
we see a welcome process of introspection among members, on the challenges of
the next decade and the role of the body in a fast-evolving world, strewn with
multiple multilateral bodies, with intersecting agendas." " India , on its part,
has been participating constructively at all SCO meetings open to the Observers.
By doing so, we have shown our strong willingness to be meaningfully associated
with this grouping," he said. "We believe the SCO can potentially play a much
larger role in the future, both for the security and prosperity of our region.
We also value the fact that most SCO member countries are our neighbours, or belong
to our extended neighbourhood, with a strong historical and cultural legacy of
centuries binding us together,' he added. Stating that energy cooperation is another
area of interest to us, Krishna said: "The proposed TAPI Project within our region
is an example of cooperation that can bind us in energy linkages." "As we have
emphasized at various SCO fora, India would be happy to play a larger, wider and
more constructive role in the SCO as a full member, as and when the organisation
finalises the expansion modalities," he said. "We welcome the general trajectory
of the SCO towards expansion and redefinition of its role. We feel a wider and
more representative SCO will be able to deal more effectively with the common
challenges of security and development in our region," he added.
|
|
|
|
|
|