New Delhi: India has once again stood firm in its decision to reject China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), making it the sole country within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to withhold support for the project.
The New Delhi declaration which took place after the conclusion of the summit, which took place on Tuesday under India’s chairmanship, stated that Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their support to the BRI.
India has earlier as well as refused to support Xi Jinping’s flagship programme for trade and connectivity. During the previous SCO meet as well, India has not changed its stance on the BRI and has become the country not to endorse the project.
Meanwhile, virtually addressing the SCO meeting of heads of state on Tuesday, Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing’s stand of enhancing BRI and talked about ‘high-quality Belt and Road cooperation’ with development strategies of various countries and regional cooperation initiatives, according to the state news agency.
However India has said that although connectivity is very important, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the countries should be respected.
“Prime Minister clearly said in his remarks that connectivity is important for SCO member states. But connectivity has to be respectful of sovereignty and territorial integrity . India’s position on the BRI has been clear,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said while addressing the briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.
The SCO summit concluded under India’s presidency earlier in the day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and heads of states of other SCO nations virtually took part in the event. India remains committed to playing a positive and constructive role in the organization and looks forward to a successful SCO summit as the culmination of its Chairmanship.
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