The External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar on September 24, 2020, participated in the virtual meeting of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and highlighted that the organization must overcome cross-border terrorism, obstruction in trade, and blocking of connectivity, the three key challenges.
The statement was made by S Jaishankar during this address at a SAARC foreign ministers informal meeting in a clear criticism of Pakistan. Jaishankar also called for the collective resolve to defeat the scourge of terrorism including the forces that support, nurture, and encourage it.
During the virtual meet, the External Affairs Minister also highlighted India’s support to its SAARC neighbours which includes Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, and the financial assistance that India has provided them this year.
Addressed the #SAARC Foreign Ministers Informal Meeting today. Reaffirmed India’s commitment to Neighbourhood First policy and towards building a connected, integrated, secure and prosperous South Asia. pic.twitter.com/z0Q9AmRxeP
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 24, 2020
Key Highlights:
• Besides India and Pakistan, the SAARC grouping comprises Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.
• The external Affairs Minister, during the meet, reaffirmed India’s commitment to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and towards building an integrated, connected, and prosperous South Asia.
• The Minister emphasized India’s extended USD 150 million support to the Maldives, currency swap support of RS 400 million to Sri Lanka, and USD 200 million to Bhutan during the course of 2020.
• In the virtual meet which was hosted by Nepal, the foreign ministers from Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka also took part.
• Increased collaboration against the COVID-19 pandemic, trade, and connectivity was also discussed in the meet.
S Jaishankar during SAARC Virtual Meet:
The External Affairs Minister Spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava informed that during the meet Jaishankar mentioned that over the last 35 years, SAARC has made progress but efforts towards the collective prosperity and collaboration have been hampered by the acts of terrorism.
He further added that such an environment impedes our shared objective of realizing the full potential of our collective endeavour. It has become crucial that we collectively resolve and defeat terrorism. It will generate the much- needed trust and confidence to collectively build a prosperous and stronger SAARC.
Through the talks, India has maintained that talks and terror cannot go together and has blamed Pakistan for stalling the functioning of SAARC by sponsoring terrorism and blocking connectivity.
Pakistan Foreign Minister attends the meeting:
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan Foreign Minister also took part in the virtual meet. Through a tweet, Mr. Qureshi informed that he highlighted to condemn and oppose illegal/unilateral measures to change the status of the disrupted territories in the violation of UNSC resolutions.
He further added that such unilateral measures run in counter to the shared objective of SAARC to create regional cooperation and must be opposed resolutely. Qureshi also emphasized on Pakistan’s willingness to host the 19th SAARC Summit.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation