SCO should have honest conversation on lack of trust: Jaishankar in Pakistan
Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing the SCO meeting in Islamabad
Trade and connectivity initiatives by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) must acknowledge territorial integrity and sovereignty and the bloc should have an “honest conversation” on the lack of trust and good neighbourly ties, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.
Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Islamabad, a day after he became the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in nearly a decade. He is representing India at the meeting of the SCO’s second-highest decision-making body.
Jaishankar’s remarks came after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suggested that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – long opposed by India for passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir – should be expanded and made a part of a “robust SCO connectivity framework”. The SCO does not allow the raising of bilateral matters, though India, Pakistan, and China have often sparred on such matters at meetings.
Jaishankar pointed to challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas conflict, the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, and disruptions such as extreme climate events, supply chain uncertainties, and financial volatility, and suggested solutions could be found in the SCO Charter.
Globalisation and rebalancing have created new opportunities in trade, investment, connectivity, energy flows, and other forms of collaboration that the SCO region can benefit from, but such cooperation must be based on “mutual respect and sovereign equality”, he said.
“It should recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty. It must be built on genuine partnerships, not unilateral agendas. It cannot progress if we cherry-pick global practices, especially of trade and transit,” he said, in an apparent response to Sharif pushing projects such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which India has not joined.
Jaishankar noted that Article 1 of the SCO Charter focuses on strengthening mutual trust, friendship, and good neighbourliness and developing multifaceted cooperation, especially of a regional nature. “It is to be a positive force in terms of balanced growth, integration and conflict prevention,” he said, noting the Charter is equally clear on three key challenges that SCO is committed to combatting – terrorism, separatism, and extremism.
“It is, therefore, essential that we have an honest conversation. If trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate if the friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address,” he said.
He said SCO’s endeavours will progress only when the commitment to the charter remains firm. “It is axiomatic that development and growth require peace and stability. And as the Charter spelt out, this means being firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’,” he said.
“If activities across borders are characterised by terrorism, extremism, and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges in parallel,” Jaishankar said, in an apparent reference to India’s long-standing accusation that Pakistan is involved in backing cross-border terrorism.
For the SCO to attain its objectives, the bloc must recognise the “current constraints on our cooperation” and focus on the way forward. “It can surely happen when we develop and implement an agenda that is firmly based on an agreed mutuality of interests. To do that, it is equally essential that we abide by the dos and don’ts so clearly articulated by the Charter,” he said.
Jaishankar suggested areas where the SCO member states could gain from cooperation, including industrial cooperation to enhance competitiveness and expand labour markets, MSME collaboration for generating employment, and encouraging investment flows.
“Business communities will profit through larger networks. Collaborative connectivity can create new efficiencies. The world of logistics, as indeed of energy, could undergo a sea change. Environmental protection and climate action are ready domains for mutually beneficial exchanges,” he said.
“Whether it is health, food, or energy security, we are all clearly better off working together. Indeed, even culture, education, and sports are promising areas. In effect, there is so much that we can do once we are truly determined to promote that synergy,” he added.
Jaishankar offered to share the benefits of India’s global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Global Biofuel Alliance, and digital public infrastructure. He pitched for “reformed multilateralism” and comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council in the permanent and non-permanent categories.
The credibility and effectiveness of the UN is dependent on the representation of developing countries and the “Pact for the Future” adopted at the last UN General Assembly underlines the need to reform the Security Council to make it more inclusive, transparent, effective and accountable. “The SCO must be in the lead of advocating such change, not hold back on a matter of such importance,” he said.