PANAJI, India – Foreign ministers from a group of nations led by China and Russia met Friday in the Indian coastal resort state of Goa, where they were expected to discuss regional security, combating terrorism and deepening economic and cultural ties.
India’s Foreign Minister Subhramanyam Jaishankar in opening remarks to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization – a group that includes China, Russia and several other Asian countries – criticized global institutions’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their ability to resolve geopolitical upheaval, saying that alternative forums like the SCO have an opportunity to help address such challenges.
He said, according to AP, the developments have disrupted global supply chains, especially in energy, food and fertilizer, and hit developing nations the hardest.
“These crises have also exposed a credibility and trust deficit in the ability of global institutions to manage challenges in a timely and efficient manner,” he said. “With more than 40% of the world’s population within the SCO, our collective decisions will surely have a global impact.”
The SCO was founded in 2001 by China and Russia, and included the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was expanded in 2017 to include India and Pakistan. Iran is expected to join the organization later this year.
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