New Delhi: Prime Minister on Friday addressed the 21st meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is being held in a hybrid format at the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe.

PM Narendra Modi led the Indian delegation and joined the summit of heads of the state virtually, minister of external affairs S Jaishankar—who is already present in the Tajik capital—will represent India at the summit.

Highlights of PM Modi's speech:

• This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of SCO. I welcome Iran as a new member country of the SCO. I also welcome the three new dialogue partners - Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar.
• We must encourage our talented youngsters towards science and rational thinking. We can bring our startups and entrepreneurs together to make the innovative spirit towards making India a stakeholder in emerging technology.
• The 20th anniversary of SCO is the right time to think about the future of SCO. The biggest challenges in this area are related to peace, security and trust deficit, and the root cause of these problems is increasing radicalisation. Recent developments in Afghanistan have made this challenge clear.
• Any connectivity initiative cannot be one-way. To ensure mutual trust, connectivity projects should be consultative, transparent and participatory. There should be respect for the territorial integrity of all countries.
• SCO should develop a shared template to fight radicalism and extremism.
• India is committed to increasing its connectivity with Central Asia. We believe that landlocked Central Asian countries can benefit immensely by connecting with India's vast market.