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In the 23rd meeting of Ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal noted that India's priorities within the SCO align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a 'SECURE' SCO, which stands for Security, Economic Development, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environmental protection.
In his virtual address, Barthwal highlighted India's active contributions to the SCO's development agenda since becoming a member in 2017. He also emphasised the SCO's importance in the global economic landscape, congratulating Pakistan for its Presidency of the SCO Heads of Government and welcoming Belarus as a new member. Barthwal said that digitalisation holds the promise for rapid economic development and prosperity. It was reiterated that India had successfully created a strong digital public infrastructure platform for financial inclusion, education, and improving overall governance in the country. The use of digital technology as 'public goods' has led to widespread benefit across the population irrespective of their position in the economic hierarchy, which can be replicated in the area of green energy transition, which is a necessity to meet our net zero targets and in our common pursuit to reduce carbon footprints for sustainable growth. Barthwal focused on the importance of efficient logistics for international trade, in which, paperless trading is a critical step towards streamlining cross-border transactions. The Commerce Secretary emphasised the need for strong connectivity to foster trade and economic development. However, while making such efforts to bolster connectivity projects, it is essential to build in trust as well as transparency in our cooperative efforts. In this context, Barthwal made his intervention that it is of utmost importance that we uphold the principles of the SCO Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the member states. The Commerce Secretary recalled India's active and constructive contribution to SCO through various events and meetings during its first ever Presidency for the SCO Heads of State last year. It was also highlighted that any effort towards fair trade practices cannot be complete without the collective effort of the member states within the economies and more transparency to ensure a wider economic outcome in the region. It is essential to ensure inclusive growth in the SCO region, for which the Member States should support each other in moving up the value chains in the production of goods and services, which directly impacts economic growth and citizen's welfare. It was highlighted that the 21st century is the century of technology, and India is among a few countries to formulate a national strategy on artificial intelligence and launch an AI mission. He reiterated that India's commitment to 'AI for all' in achieving responsible development for the larger good of our society could be realised by working closely together to make AI transparent, fair, secure, accessible, and responsible. During the meeting, the ministers approved 3 documents covering different areas of cooperation, viz., the Framework for Cooperation of the SCO Member States in the sphere of development of the creative economy, the Concept of Cooperation between the Trade Promotion Organisations of the SCO Member States, and the Concept for the Creation of Economic Preferences Base of the SCO Member States, and also adopted a statement on issues of fair trade and sustainable development. While concluding his interventions, the Commerce Secretary reiterated India's commitment to continue to constructively participate in the SCO activities and extend all possible support for a successful outcome. The 23rd meeting of Ministers of SCO responsible for foreign economic and foreign trade activities was held under the chairmanship of Pakistan. (ANI)
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