Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is visiting Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe on 19 and 20 October 2026. where he represented India at the 25th meeting of SCO Heads of Government on Tuesday. In the meantime, Rajnath Singh took a tough stand against Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, calling terrorism the biggest threat to development.

Rajnath Singh said that terrorism is the most serious threat to development. Terrorism not only kills innocent people but also disrupts investment and trade. Terrorism radicalises society and deprives our youth of the opportunities they deserve. So terrorism cannot be justified in any way.

He emphasized that there should be no room for those who finance terrorism. The Defense Minister said there can be no double standards in dealing with terrorism. There should be no room for those who finance, support or provide safe haven to terrorists. Its entire system has to be dismantled en masse. When Rajnath Singh said this, Isak Dar was sitting in front of him.

Have to work together on supply chain and trade

Rajnath Singh also reiterated India’s vision of promoting security, connectivity and economic opportunities to ensure regional prosperity. He said that today we are in an era where the global economic environment is uncertain. Conflicts and geopolitical tensions are disrupting supply chains. Energy and food security are concerns for us.

New technologies are changing economies and creating new sectors. Therefore, the SCO will be evaluated based on whether it can find common ground and work on it. In a changing global economic environment, SCO countries must work together on resilient supply chains, better trade and investment, and technology-driven development.

India is ready to work with SCO partners

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said India is ready to share its experience and work together with SCO partners, ranging from digital public infrastructure to women-led development and clean energy. Our success must be measured by the opportunities created for youth, the new markets opened to entrepreneurs and the connections between society.

The last meeting of the Council of Heads of Government was held in November 2025 in Moscow, the capital of Russia. India was represented in that meeting by Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar did.