your Excellency Mr kasim Jamar Tov president of the Republic of Kazakhstan excellencies ladies and gentlemen it's a great pleasure to meet the extended members of the SEO family today let me first appreciate the efforts of the kazak chair in taking this initiative to convene us all I convey the following remarks on behalf of Prime Minister Modi who could not be here because of the ongoing Parliament session in India I begin excellencies the world is currently experiencing profound shifts driven by geopolitical tensions geoeconomic forces and geotechnological advancements they all have sweeping implications as we look ahead there are both immediate and systemic challenges and opportunities arising from them even as we address those let us be clear that the world is inexorably moving towards real multipolarity in such a scenario the SEO will only become more important but its true value would depend on how well all of us can cooperate amongst ourselves we have already had discussions about that within the SEO the same extends to to the extended family speaking of challenges terrorism would surely rank foremost for many of us the truth is that it continues to be used by Nations as a tool of destabilization we have had our own experiences with crossb terrorism let us be clear that terrorism in any form of manifestation cannot be justified or condoned harboring terrorists must be strongly condemned crossb terrorism requires a decisive response and terrorism finance and recruitment must be effectively countered the SEO must never waver in its commitment we cannot have double standards in this regard when it comes to geoeconomics the need of the day is to create multiple reliable and resilient Supply chains this is an important take away from the covid experience make in India can add to the inin of global growth and help democratize the global economy India is open to partnering with others in capacity building especially nations of the global South technology not only holds great promise in our times but is increasingly a game changer on both development and security the digital era needs more more trust and transparency Ai and cyber security raise crucial issues of their own at the same time India has shown that digital public infrastructure and digital Financial inclusion can make such a huge difference both were discussed during our SEO presidency but today they can also expand the scope for international cooperation and involving SEO members and partners excellencies while standing Resolute on challenges it is equally important to actively and collaboratively explore Avenues of progress the current Global debate is focused on creating new connectivity linkages that would better serve a rebalanced world if this is to gather momentum it requires the joint efforts of many it must also be respectful of sovereignty and territorial Integrity of states and be built on the foundation of non-discriminatory trade and Transit rights to neighbors for the SEO extended family we flag the progress made on chabahar Port recently through a long-term agreement between India and Iran this not only holds Great Value to landlock Central Asian States but also der risks commerce between India and uraia while on the region let me also speak about Afghanistan we have a historical relationship between our peoples that is the Bedrock of our ties our cooperation covers development projects humanitarian assistance capacity building and sports India remains sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the Afghan people the SEO extended family shares a commitment to reform the current International order this is only possible when those efforts extend to the United Nations and the security Council we hope that in the near future we can develop a strong consensus on the way ahead excellencies India has contributed significantly to enhancing the economic agenda of the SEO we have institutionalized mechanisms like the SEO startup forum and the special working group on Startup and Innovation with 130,000 startups in India including 100 unicorns our experience can be useful for others when it comes to medical and wellness tourism you may be aware that the who has set up a global Center for traditional medicine in Gujarat in SEO India has taken the initiative for a new SEO working group on traditional medicine enhancing education training and capacity building are key pillars of India's cooperation we are committed to further building on them be it with C5 partners of Central Asia or those of the the neighborhood first or the extended neighborhood excellencies as more countries seek association with SEO as observers and dialogue Partners we must strive to communicate better and deeper uh so that our consensus is also stronger granting English the status of a third official language will be crucial in that regard we congratulate the kazak side for hosting the successful Summit as visha bandhu or the friend of the world India will always strive to deepen cooperation with all its Partners we also extend our best wishes uh for the success of the upcoming Chinese presidency of the SEO this concludes the remarks of Prime Minister Modi I thank you for your attention [Music] [Applause]