New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday attended the SCO Summit in China’s Qingdao. The Union Minister put forward his views on terrorism,. the multilateral world order and the increasing menace of terrorism and rise of weapons in the world, at the meeting. He also talked about the need for peace and prosperity for all.
Here are the top quotes of Rajnath Singh from the SCO Summit
- It is my pleasure to be here in Qingdao to participate in the SCO Defence Ministers meeting. I would like to thank our hosts for their warm hospitality. I would also like to congratulate Belarus on joining the SCO family as a new member. The world we live in is undergoing a drastic transformation. Globalisation, which once brought us closer together, has been losing momentum. The weakening of multilateral systems has made it harder to address urgent challenges from maintaining peace and security to rebuilding economies after the pandemic.
- India believes that reformed multilateralism can help build cooperation to prevent conflict between countries by creating mechanisms for dialogue and collaboration. No country, however large and powerful, can manage alone. In fact, the very idea of the global order, or indeed of multilateralism, is the assumption that nations have to work with each other for their mutual and collective benefit. This is also reflective of our age-old Sanskrit saying ‘Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu’, which implies peace and prosperity to all.
- I believe that the biggest challenges that we are facing in our region are related to peace, security and trust-deficit. The root cause of these problems is increasing radicalisation, extremism and terrorism. Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges require decisive action and we must unite in our fight against these evils for our collective safety and security
- Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations
- On 22 April 2025, the terror group ‘The Resistance Front’ carried out a dastardly and heinous attack on innocent tourists at Pahalgam in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. 26 innocent civilans, including a Nepali national, were killed. Victims were shot at after they were profiled based on religious identity. The Resistance Front which is a proxy of UN designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack
- The pattern of Pahalgam terror attack matches with LeT’s previous terror attacks in India. In exercising its right to defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter further cross border terrorist attacks, India on 7th May 2025 successfully launched Operation Sindoor to dismantle cross border terrorist infrastructure.
- Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation whenever, wherever and by whom-so-ever committed. SCO members must condemn this evil unequivocally.
- We reiterate the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross border terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.
- India has been consistent and steadfast in its policy in support of peace, security and stability in Afghanistan… As Afghanistan’s largest regional development partner, India continues to implement capacity-building initiatives for the Afghan people
