MOSCOW: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, while addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, once again called for zero tolerance towards terrorism and stressed that there can be "no whitewashing, justification towards terrorism".
"We must never forget that the SCO was founded to combat the three evils of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. These threats have become even more serious in the years that have passed. It is imperative that the world display zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There can be no justification, no looking away and no whitewashing. As India has demonstrated, we have the right to defend our people against terrorism and will exercise it, " EAM Jaishankar said in his remarks at the meeting.
The Council of Heads of Government (CHG) is the second-most important SCO mechanism which meets annually to decide upon major issues of trade-economic cooperation as well as the SCO annual budget. The last meeting of CHG was held in Pakistan in October 2024.
India, EAM Jaishankar said, also strongly believes that people-to-people exchanges lie at the core of any genuine relationship.