Vikram Misri
New Delhi: Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Tianjin in China for the SCO summit, govt on Tuesday said India was seeking a strong condemnation of cross-border terrorism in the Tianjin declaration, the joint statement that will follow the summit.Senior officials recalled that when SCO was established, one of its main objectives was to counter challenges to peace and security arising from terrorism, separatism and extremism.MEA secretary (west) Tanmaya Lal, in a joint briefing with foreign secretary Vikram Misri, said while the declaration text was still being finalised, India was working with other member-states to ensure there was a reiteration of the strong condemnation of terrorism.This will be the first meeting of the SCO leaders after the Pahalgam attack and India expects the declaration to reflect the solidarity expressed by the international community. It remains to be seen, however, if there is any mention of Pahalgam in the joint statement as Pakistan is likely to either oppose it, or insist on the mention of terrorist activities on its soil for which it might have blamed India. Modi is expected to reach China on Aug 30 for the SCO summit. On the margins, he is also expected to have bilateral meetings with Chinese and Russian presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.
