Bishkek: In a veiled attack on Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that countries sponsoring, aiding and funding terrorism must be held accountable as he called for a global conference to combat the menace.
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here, Modi highlighted the spirit and ideals of the SCO to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism. India stood for a terrorism-free society, he said.
To combat the menace of terrorism, countries will have to come out of their narrow purview to unite against it, Modi said in the presence of his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan.
The Prime Minister also called on the SCO member states to cooperate under the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) against terrorism.
He also urged the SCO leaders to organise a global conference on terrorism. Earlier, in the day, Modi met President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov. He is also the current Chair of the SCO Summit 2019.
The Prime Minister was welcomed by the Kyrgyz President as he arrived at the Ala Archa Presidential Palace ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State meeting.
“President Sooronbay Jeenbekov of #Kyrgyz Republic, current Chair of #SCOSummit2019 warmly welcomed PM @narendramodi as he arrived at the Ala Archa Presidential Palace ahead of the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting today morning,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.
The meeting between the two leaders is their first interaction after Modi’s re-election following the stunning victory of the BJP in the general elections last month.
Modi arrived in the Kyrgyz capital on Thursday for the two-day SCO summit. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc with India and Pakistan being admitted to the grouping in 2017.