
Rajnath Singh to depart for China today, call for joint efforts to eliminate terrorism at SCO meeting
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will today depart for China's Qingdao to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting set to be held from June 25-26. Singh said he is looking forward to presenting India's vision for global peace and security and calling for joint and continuous efforts to eliminate terrorism.
In a statement shared on X, Rajnath Singh stated, "Today, 25th June, I shall be leaving for Qingdao, China, to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting. I will have the opportunity to interact with various Defence Ministers on a wide range of issues. Looking forward to present India's vision for global peace and security and also, call for joint and consistent efforts to eliminate terrorism."
During the meeting, the leaders are expected to discuss various issues, including regional and international peace and security, counter-terrorism efforts and cooperation among the Ministries of Defence of SCO member states.
In a press release, Ministry of Defence stated, "Raksha Mantri is expected to highlight India's continued commitment to the principles and mandate of the SCO, outline India's vision towards achieving greater international peace & security, call for joint & consistent efforts to eliminate terrorism & extremism in the region, and stress on the need for greater trade, economic cooperation and connectivity within SCO. He will also hold bilateral meetings with the Defence Ministers of some participating countries, including China and Russia, on the sidelines of the meeting."
The Ministry of Defence noted that India attaches special importance to the SCO in promoting multilateralism, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region. It further said, "SCO pursues its policy based on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity of nations, non-interference in internal affairs, mutual respect, understanding and equality of all member states."
SCO is an intergovernmental organisation established in 2001. India became its full member in 2017 and assumed the rotating Chairmanship in 2023. The SCO members include Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus, besides India. China has assumed the Chair of the SCO for 2025 under the theme 'Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move'.
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Times of Oman
8 hours ago
- Times of Oman
Rajnath Singh to depart for China today, call for joint efforts to eliminate terrorism at SCO meeting
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will today depart for China's Qingdao to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting set to be held from June 25-26. Singh said he is looking forward to presenting India's vision for global peace and security and calling for joint and continuous efforts to eliminate terrorism. In a statement shared on X, Rajnath Singh stated, "Today, 25th June, I shall be leaving for Qingdao, China, to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting. I will have the opportunity to interact with various Defence Ministers on a wide range of issues. Looking forward to present India's vision for global peace and security and also, call for joint and consistent efforts to eliminate terrorism." During the meeting, the leaders are expected to discuss various issues, including regional and international peace and security, counter-terrorism efforts and cooperation among the Ministries of Defence of SCO member states. In a press release, Ministry of Defence stated, "Raksha Mantri is expected to highlight India's continued commitment to the principles and mandate of the SCO, outline India's vision towards achieving greater international peace & security, call for joint & consistent efforts to eliminate terrorism & extremism in the region, and stress on the need for greater trade, economic cooperation and connectivity within SCO. He will also hold bilateral meetings with the Defence Ministers of some participating countries, including China and Russia, on the sidelines of the meeting." The Ministry of Defence noted that India attaches special importance to the SCO in promoting multilateralism, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region. It further said, "SCO pursues its policy based on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity of nations, non-interference in internal affairs, mutual respect, understanding and equality of all member states." SCO is an intergovernmental organisation established in 2001. India became its full member in 2017 and assumed the rotating Chairmanship in 2023. The SCO members include Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus, besides India. China has assumed the Chair of the SCO for 2025 under the theme 'Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move'.


Times of Oman
a day ago
- Times of Oman
Operation Sindhu: IAF evacuates 165 Indians from Jordan amid Israel-Iran conflict
New Delhi: A total of 165 Indian nationals were evacuated by the Indian Air Force under Operation Sindhu from Jordan, in an effort to get citizens back home safe amid the Israel-Iran conflict. The IAF's C-17 aircraft landed in Delhi today morning, and the passengers were welcomed by Minister of State L Murugan. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, informed about the flight in a post on X, adding, "An IAF C-17 flight evacuated 165 Indian nationals from Israel under Operation Sindhu. They were received by MoS Dr. L. Murugan upon arrival in Delhi. The aircraft landed at 0845 hrs on 24th June from Amman (Jordan)." Earlier, while talking about the arrival of the evacuees in Delhi's Palam airport, the IAF said that there are going to be missions in Egypt too. "In response to heightened tensions in conflict-affected areas in West Asia, IAF C-17 aircraft commenced missions from Jordan and Egypt to extricate Indian nationals and citizens of friendly countries. The IAF remains committed as first responders to provide assistance within the country and across the globe in times of need," the Air Force said in a post on X. "Today, the second aircraft from Israel came here, almost 165 passengers have landed here, we welcome them, the passengers are from 22 states, they are all students and doing various work. Our priority and Prime Minister Modi's priority is that wherever the war situation is there and our Indian diaspora people are stuck, the priority is to work to bring them in safely," L Murugan told ANI while receiving the passengers. Some of the passengers expressed how their experience of evacuation was quite good, with the Indian embassy in Jordan helping a lot to ensure that the people reached home. "The Indian government helped us a lot. For evacuation, we travelled to the Indian embassy in Jordan, even the embassy helped us a lot, overall a good half an hour before we left our place, there were sirens, bombings happening. Even when we reached the border of Israel, it was happening," one of the passengers, who had been evacuated with her daughter and husband, told ANI. Earlier on Tuesday, under Operation Sindhu, as many as 161 Indian nationals arrived in Delhi from Israel, with Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, welcoming them at the airport. Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the Israel leg of Operation Sindhu started on June 23. Jaiswal emphasised that the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad remain the government's highest priority. The conflict between Israel and Iran began on June 13 when the former launched a massive airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear sites, code-named "Operation Rising Lion". In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated a large-scale drone and missile campaign called 'Operation True Promise 3', targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centres. Tensions escalated further after the US conducted precision airstrikes early Sunday morning on three key Iranian nuclear facilities under "Operation Midnight Hammer". Iran retaliated by launching multiple missiles at US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the region, CNN reported.


Times of Oman
a day ago
- Times of Oman
Indian NSA Doval, Russian Security Council's Dy Secy reiterate importance of taking forward bilateral cooperation
Beijing: Russian Security Council's Deputy Secretary, Aleksandr Venediktov, called on National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the 20th Meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries in Beijing on Tuesday. The two officials reiterated the importance of taking forward their bilateral cooperation based on the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership in line with the Leaders' vision. During the meeting, NSA Doval and Veneiktov discussed issues of bilateral, regional and international significance, according to the statement shared by the Indian Embassy in Beijing. In a series of posts on X, the Indian Embassy in Beijing stated, "H.E. Aleksandr Venediktov, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, called on NSA Shri Ajit Doval today on the sidelines of the 20th Meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries in Beijing." "The two sides discussed issues of bilateral, regional and international significance. The Russian side conveyed that they were looking forward to receiving NSA Doval in Russia for the next round of the Strategic Dialogue at an early date," it added. During the meeting, the Russian side conveyed that they were looking forward to welcoming Doval in Russia for the next round of the Strategic Dialogue at an early date. In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Beijing wrote, "Both sides reiterated the importance of taking forward their bilateral cooperation based on the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership in line with the vision of the Leaders." On Monday, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing and reviewed recent developments in India-China relations and underscored the need to promote the overall development of the bilateral ties, including by fostering greater people-to-people ties. During the meeting on Monday, NSA Doval emphasised the need to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations to maintain peace and stability in the region. The two leaders also spoke about other bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest, according to the statement shared by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In a statement shared on X, MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "NSA Ajit Doval met Chinese FM Wang Yi in Beijing today. Discussions focused on bilateral, regional & international issues of mutual interest."