Islamabad Oct.17 (Agencies):- EAM Jaishankar called for introspection if good neighbourliness missing
In his address at the 23rd meeting of the SCO council of Heads of Government in Islamabad. Dr. Jaishankar said,” if we fast forward from the inception of the charter to the situation today.
In the past too, India has refrained from endorsing the OBOR or the Belt and Road Initiative in joint documents issued after SCO meetings. India didn’t join the other nine members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in backing China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) connectivity and infrastructure initiative.
The move was in keeping with India’s stated position on OBOR, a flagship initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, that New Delhi has said doesn’t offer a level playing field for Indian firms. In the past too, India has refrained from endorsing the OBOR or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in joint documents issued after SCO meetings.
The joint communique issued at the conclusion of the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, hosted by Pakistan, said the other member states backed the OBOR and efforts to link the China-led initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union.
The statement said Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed “support for the People’s Republic of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative”, and “noted ongoing work on joint implementation of the project, including efforts to bridge the Eurasian Economic Union and OBOR”.