Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane emphasised the need to adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism in all its forms at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting held in Astana on Friday.

The meeting, held within the framework of Kazakhstan’s ongoing SCO chairmanship, was attended by the heads of the defence departments of the SCO member states, the Secretary General, the Director of the Executive Committee of the Organisation’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), as well as Belarus’ Minister of Defence.

A joint communique issued after the meeting stated that the SCO Defence Ministers agreed, among other initiatives, to develop the idea of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, which is rooted in the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.

Leading the Indian delegation, the Defence Secretary delivered the statement at the ministerial meeting and also held meetings with the Defence Ministers of the SCO member countries on various issues of bilateral cooperation.

Aramane reiterated India’s steadfast commitment towards maintaining peace, stability and security in the SCO region and mentioned New Delhi’s longstanding proposal of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the United Nations.

He also highlighted India’s concept of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR) for the Indo-Pacific region.

During the meeting, a protocol was signed by the Defence Ministers of all the SCO member states.

A statement released by the Kazakh Defence Ministry mentioned that the heads of the defence departments also agreed to develop cooperation between military-historical museums to promote the activities of the armed forces of the member states of the organisation.