External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday during the the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet said, ‘Menace of terrorism continues unabated, it must be stopped’.
S Jaishankar talked tough on cross-border terrorism and stressed the need to seize and block the channel of finances for terror activities. Addressing the opening segment of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, Jaishankar highlighted the multitude of challenges faced by the world, including disruptions in global supply chains, due to the Covid pandemic and geopolitical upheavals.
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According to media reports, Jaishankar said, “ While the world was engaged in facing Covid and its consequences, the menace of terrorism continues unabated. Taking our eyes off this menace would be detrimental to our security interests. We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism,”
Earlier, S Jaishankar welcomed his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for the meeting. They exchanged pleasantries and posed for photographs before Bhutto-Zardari headed for the crucial meeting in Goa. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in almost 12 years amid continuing strain in ties between the two countries on a host of issues, including cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Jaishankar also welcomed SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and foreign ministers of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan for the CFM meeting in Goa. On Thursday evening, Bhtutto-Zardari attended a reception hosted by Jaishankar for the visiting foreign ministers.
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