India once again refused to support China's 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR) project at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting held in Islamabad on Wednesday. This move was in line with India's already existing policy on OBOR. India believes that the project does not provide a level playing field for Indian companies. In the past too, India has refrained from supporting OBOR or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in joint documents issued after SCO meetings.
The joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting said other member states supported efforts to link the China-led initiative with OBOR and the Eurasian Economic Union. The statement reiterated support for OBOR by Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and noted continued work on joint implementation of the project.
India has also long opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key part of OBOR, as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Despite being invited by China several times, India is one of the few countries in Asia that has never signed OBOR.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was chairing the meeting, called for building the SCO connectivity framework by expanding projects like BRI, CPEC and the International North-South Corridor (INSC). Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, speaking after Sharif, said that cooperation on connectivity and trade under the SCO should recognize territorial integrity and sovereignty, and should not be based on a “unilateral agenda”.
Jaishankar was the first Indian foreign minister to visit Islamabad in almost a decade. However, he did not hold any bilateral meeting with the Pakistani leadership during his visit. Jaishankar was welcomed by Shehbaz Sharif during a dinner organized on Tuesday night. He shook hands briefly with the Pakistani Prime Minister, while his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar was present. The scene was a far cry from the SCO foreign ministers' meeting held in Goa last year, when Jaishankar greeted the then Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with 'Namaste' instead of a handshake.
After the meeting, Jaishankar posted on Twitter: “Farewell to Islamabad. Thanks to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the Government of Pakistan for their hospitality and courtesy.” In another post, Jaishankar described the SCO meeting as “useful” and said eight outcome documents were signed. “India made a positive and constructive contribution to the discussions,” he said.
Key points from the Indian perspective include supporting fair and balanced connectivity projects, consistent with international law and the principles of the UN and SCO charters; These included making digital public infrastructure and digital inclusion part of the SCO cooperation framework, and developing dialogue on the idea of ​​”One Earth, One Family, One Future”. Other important points also included opposing protectionist measures, unilateral sanctions and trade restrictions, which undermine the multilateral trading system and hinder global sustainable development.
