Dushanbe, Oct 20: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday called for the collective dismantling of the entire “ecosystem of terrorism”, asserting that there could be no justification or double standards in dealing with the threat.
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Singh said terrorism remained one of the most serious threats to peace and development,
“Terrorism radicalises societies and deprives our youth of the opportunities they deserve,” he said, stressing that those who finance, support or provide safe havens to terrorists must face firm and collective action.
“There can be no place for those who provide terrorists with finance, support, or safe havens. The entire ecosystem of terrorism must be firmly and collectively dismantled,” Singh said.
Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar was also present at the gathering when Singh made the remarks.
Singh is on a two-day official visit to Tajikistan to represent India at the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting.
Alongside security concerns, the defence minister underscored the importance of economic cooperation among member countries.
He reaffirmed India’s support for adopting the 2026–2030 action plan under the Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation Programme.
“India believes that our economic engagement, along with being inclusive, should be beneficial for each member country. We should work towards building more resilient supply chains, facilitating trade and investment, and using technology for development,” he said.
Singh also announced that India would host the first SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum by the end of this year, inviting all member countries to participate.
The proposed forum follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion at the SCO Council of Heads of State summit in Tianjin in 2025 to establish a platform that would strengthen people-to-people ties and showcase the richness of ancient civilisations, art, literature and traditions on a global stage.
PTI