- Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Other members — Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their support for the ambitious project.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S sour relations with China once again came to the fore on Tuesday (4) as New Delhi refused to endorse Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), becoming the only member at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit not to sign an agreement supporting the global infrastructure project.
Other members — Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their support for BRI — said the declaration issued at the end of the virtual summit which was hosted by India and chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi.
“Reaffirming their support for China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) initiative, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Uzbekistan note the ongoing work to jointly implement this project, including efforts to link the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union and BRI,” it said, India Today reported.
The declaration also said the member states considered it key to ensure the implementation of the SCO Economic Development Strategy 2030 adopted by “interested member states” and projects aimed at enhancing cooperation in areas such as digital economy, finance, energy and food security besides modernisation of current international routes for road and train transportation, the report added.
Earlier, Modi said in his opening remarks at the virtual event that it is important to respect the basic principles of the SCO charter, especially the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the member states, while trying for the betterment of connectivity.,
One of the major reasons why New Delhi opposes the BRI is because one of the parts of the project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The summit was also attended by Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese president Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, among others.
Iran formally became a full member of the SCO at the summit.
