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Connectivity, fighting terrorism among India’s objectives in SCO Summit

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New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) Connectivity and the fight against terrorism will be among India’s objectives when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits China to attend the 18th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on June 9-10 on the sidelines of which he will also hold a bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a senior official said on Thursday.

Briefing the media here, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that while the bilateral meeting with Xi will be held on June 9, June 10 is the main day of the SCO Summit being held in the city of Qingdao in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.

The bilateral summit between Modi and Xi will be held after the two leaders met for an informal summit on April 27-28 at the invitation of the Chinese leader in Wuhan, China, where they pledged to keep the India-China border quiet and personally guide their respective armies to avert a Doklam-like military stand-off in future.

This will be the first time India will be participating in the SCO Summit after being granted full membership of the bloc, along with Pakistan, in June last year.

The SCO is a Eurasian inter-governmental organisation, the creation of which was announced in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.

Kumar said that India has participated in all SCO dialogue mechanisms after becoming a full member of the organisation.

Giving details, he said that the objective of the Qingdao Summit is to further deepen the existing relationship between the SCO member countries.

“They have identified four areas – politics, security, economic and cultural cooperation,” the spokesperson said.

“There is something called the Shanghai Spirit which needs to be strengthened, which talks about mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, and respect for cultural diversity and pursuit of common development.”

As far as India’s objectives are concerned that, Kumar said that the fight against terrorism and connectivity issues will be the priorities.

“It is important for us to ensure peace and security in the SCO region and the fight against the growing threat of terrorism,” he said.

The idea, he said, is to see how to use the SCO platform in the fight against the global scourge of terrorism.

“We are also focused on the connectivity aspect of it,” Kumar said.

India is involved in several connectivity projects in the region like the International North South Transport Corridor, the Chabahar port being developed in Iran for which New Delhi, Tehran and Kabul are signatories, the Askabad Agreement, a multimodal transport agreement between India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway project under New Delhi’s Act East Policy, and the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement.

Other objectives of India in the Summit are common development and extending relations with Central Asian countries.

SCO countries now account for around 42 per cent of the world’s population, 22 per cent of the land area and 20 per cent of the GDP.

–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma

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World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.

Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.

During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.

On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”

Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.

Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.

Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”

On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”

The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.

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