India launches official website of SCO for 2023-“For a SECURE SCO”

India has launched the official website of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as it will host the next SCO summit as a chairman of organisation in 2023.

The website highlights the events that will be undertaken under the chairmanship of India next year.

Taking to Twitter, Ministry of External Affairs’ Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “For a SECURE SCO. The official website of India’s Chairmanship of SCO Council of Heads of State is now live at https://indiainsco.in. Visit the website for the latest information on India as SCO Chair, calendar of events and other updates!”

India received the SCO rotating presidency yesterday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.India will hold the presidency of the grouping for a year until September 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had floated the concept of SECURE at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China in 2018. Explaining the SECURE concept, the Prime Minister said ‘S’ for security for citizens, ‘E’ for economic development, ‘C’ for connectivity in the region, ‘U’ for unity, ‘R’ for respect of sovereignty and integrity, and ‘E for environment protection.

The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States signed the Samarkand Declaration in the meeting of the Council of Heads of State in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Recently, in September, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Anupriya Patel has said constructive cooperation coupled with trust and transparency is vital to tap the trade potential of SCO Member States.

Anupriya Patel made these remarks on Wednesday during a virtual intervention at the 21st Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers responsible for Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade.

The Minister mentioned the opportunities available in the SCO region for mutually beneficial, balanced and equitable gains for all SCO Members, according to a Commerce Ministry press release. She stressed the need for effective cooperation between SCO Member States for balanced and equitable growth in trade and commerce.

She underscored the importance of collective efforts to achieve balanced and equitable economic growth by way of making trade an engine of reviving growth and a driver of economic recovery. She emphasised that trust and transparency determine the sustainability of global trade and preserve the fundamental principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system.

She stressed the need to enhance affordable access to medicines, therapeutics, and vaccines as well as health care at affordable prices for fighting any pandemic, such as Covid-19 to preserve the life, livelihood, food and nutritional security of the poorest.

To bring prosperity to humankind, MOS emphasised the need to share the best practices on technological development, optimum utilization of resources, conservation of the environment, and sustainable distribution of resources so that present and future generations have adequate resources to live with, in a happy environment. (ANI)