Modi Warns Against 'Double Standards' on Terrorism as SCO Leaders Adopt Bishkek Declaration

Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathered in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday for the formal Council of Heads of State session of the 26th SCO Summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a pointed message on counter-terrorism even as member states signed off on a joint Bishkek Declaration marking 25 years of the bloc.

Modi's Message: No 'Strategic Asset' for Terror

Addressing fellow leaders including China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin, Modi called for dismantling what he described as the complete ecosystem of terrorism — its financing networks, recruitment pipelines, radicalisation channels and safe havens. He argued there can be no double standards in confronting terrorism and said countries that use it as an instrument of state policy, while sheltering those responsible, need to be told unambiguously that terrorism cannot serve as anyone's strategic asset.

Modi framed his remarks around what he called the three pillars of SCO cooperation: security, connectivity and opportunity. He urged member states to judge their own success not by summit statements but by tangible outcomes — new opportunities created for young people, new markets opened for entrepreneurs, and measurable improvements in farmers' livelihoods through technology.

Push for Trade and Connectivity Reforms

Beyond security, Modi called on the grouping to modernise trade and logistics connectivity by simplifying customs procedures, expanding digital trade documentation, and making regional logistics networks more efficient. He also urged members to put people-to-people ties — particularly engagement with youth, entrepreneurs and farmers — at the centre of the SCO's future agenda, describing the region's shared geography as an opportunity to be transformed into shared economic gains.

The Bishkek Declaration

The two-day summit, hosted by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, culminated in leaders formally adopting the Bishkek Declaration, which lays out the bloc's collective commitments across security cooperation, regional connectivity and economic opportunity for its member states' populations. The gathering also served as a milestone moment for the SCO, which marked a quarter-century since its founding.

On the sidelines, Modi held a series of bilateral engagements with other heads of state, including discussions with Japarov and Putin, continuing a pattern of India using multilateral summits to advance bilateral priorities alongside the main agenda.

Why It Matters

The summit brought together leaders representing a significant share of the world's population and economic output, at a moment when several member states are navigating their own tensions — from the Russia-Ukraine war to broader questions about regional security architecture in Central and South Asia. Modi's emphasis on rejecting double standards on terrorism is consistent with India's long-standing diplomatic position at multilateral forums, where it has repeatedly pressed for cross-border terrorism to be treated with the same seriousness regardless of which state is implicated.

For India, the SCO platform also offers a venue to advance economic connectivity initiatives even as it balances complex bilateral relationships with China and Russia within the same grouping. The outcomes of the Bishkek Declaration are likely to shape working-group discussions on trade facilitation and security cooperation among member states in the months ahead.

This article is an original editorial summary based on publicly reported information. It has been independently written for publication and does not reproduce content from any single source.