Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting began in New Delhi on Friday which is being chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

In his opening address, he laid stress on the cultural and civilizational ties between the SCO nations. “We have cultural and civilizational links. For ages, we have had people-to-people connect and have exchanges in the field of commodities, and ideas–due to which we have grown in economic and cultural terms. With changing times, we will work to strengthen those linkages. SCO has evolved into a strong regional organisation,” he said.

Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu also addressed the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Delhi.

Meanwhile, in the latest development, Pakistan is attending the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in virtual mode. Earlier, it had decided to skip the conclave.

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, Tajikistan’s Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, Iran’s Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiyani and Kazakhstan’s Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov arrived in the national capital on Thursday, a day before the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his counterparts from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are also attending the meeting.

Officials involved in preparations for the meeting said the deliberations’ main focus will be regional security situations, including the developments in Afghanistan. They said enhancing coordination among the SCO member countries to effectively combat terrorism and extremism will be another priority.

India as the Chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2023 will host the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting on 28 April 2023 in New Delhi.

SCO is an intergovernmental organization established in 2001. The SCO membership includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan besides India.

Apart from the member states, two observer countries Belarus and Iran will also be participating in the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting.

India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017.