Tashkent, Nov 30 (IANS): India Friday called for a greater role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Afghanistan reconstruction process and also pushed for its full membership of the six-member bloc.
Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, addressing the SCO Heads of Government Council in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, said India as an observer in the inter-governmental organisation has endeavoured to play a constructive role both on security and developmental issues.
Singh emphasised the role of the SCO in promoting rapid economic development and connectivity in the region, as also in countering terrorism and promoting peace."We believe that a long term solution can be achieved by supporting the efforts made by Afghanistan itself to begin an Afghan-led dialogue on reconciliation with the armed opposition forces, provided that these groups respect the principles adopted by the international community."
"We support the efforts by Russia to craft common SCO positions on Afghanistan and will be happy to join the specialised meetings to focus on this issue," she added.
She said India with its experience and institutional capabilities would be able to add value and share best practices in areas like disaster management, food security and agricultural techniques, public administration, youth exchanges, information technology, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals, which may be of interest to the SCO.
"On the expansion of the SCO, we patiently await the beginning of the formal process. Our external affairs minister has already written to all his counterparts in SCO member states, conveying our interest in membership of the organisation. We stand ready to formally apply for full membership once the SCO announces the application modalities," she said.
On the sidelines of the SCO meeting, Singh held bilateral meetings with Murad Askarov, deputy foreign minister of Uzbekistan; Mohammadrezo Nematzade, trade, mines and industry minister of Uzbekistan; Mohammad Karim Khalili, second vice-president of Afghanistan and Dmitry Mezentsev, secretary general of the SCO.
India has been an observer country in the SCO since 2005. The six-member organisation now plans to expand its membership.