Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has briefed his Belarusian, Tajik, Kazakh and Chinese counterparts on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. He met them on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China, on Thursday.
The Ministers agreed to continue cooperation to enhance capacity building, training, military technical cooperation, and military education, amongst other areas of common interest.
According to a Ministry of Defence (MoD) press release issued on Friday, Rajnath Singh briefed his counterparts on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor launched by India aimed at dismantling the terrorist networks in Pakistan.
Singh held bilateral meetings with Defence Minister of Belarus Lieutenant General Victor Khrenin, Defence Minister of Tajikistan Lieutenant General Sobrizoda Emomali Abdurakhim and Defence Minister of Kazakhstan Lieutenant General Dauren Kosanov.
In his interaction with the Ministers, Rajnath Singh highlighted the importance of continued engagement in defence cooperation and exploring new opportunities for collaboration in technical areas.
He highlighted the rapid advances made by India in the field of defence production and achieving self-reliance in meeting its defence requirements in several key areas. Rajnath Singh also held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun.
The two Ministers held in-depth discussions on the need to maintain peace and tranquillity along the India-China border. Singh acknowledged the work being undertaken by both sides to bring back a semblance of normalcy in the bilateral relations.
He highlighted the necessity of solving the complex issues through a structured roadmap of permanent engagement and de-escalation. The Defence Minister also stressed border management and having a permanent solution to border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue.
He emphasised the need to create good neighbourly conditions to achieve the best mutual benefits as well as to cooperate for stability in Asia and the world. He also called for bridging the trust deficit created after the 2020 Border standoff by taking action on the ground.
The two Ministers agreed to continue consultations at various levels to achieve progress on issues related to disengagement, de-escalation, border management and eventual delimitation through existing mechanisms.
The MoD press release said that he briefed his counterpart "on the heinous terrorist attack carried out against innocent civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, and India’s Operation Sindoor aimed at dismantling the terrorist networks in Pakistan".