Prime Minister Modi said India supports greater cooperation and mutual trust among SCO members

Referring to the progress in making the country a manufacturing hub, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India would see the highest growth among the world's major economies this year.

India's economy was expected to grow at 7.5 per cent this year, he said at the 22nd SCO Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

He used the occasion to highlight India's success with startups and innovation and offered to share this experience with SCO member countries.

During his address, Prime Minister Modi also highlighted the need for "better connectivity" among SCO member states.

'INDIA SUPPORTS GREATER COOPERATION & MUTUAL TRUST'

India supports greater cooperation and mutual trust among SCO members, Prime Minister Modi said as he pointed out that the pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine had caused many disruptions in global supply chains, leaving the world facing "unprecedented energy and food crises".

He said that the SCO should strive to develop reliable, resilient and diversified supply chains in our region. "For this, better connectivity will be required, as well as it will also be important that we all give full rights of transit to each other," the Indian Prime Minister maintained.

PM Modi also highlighted the "important" role of the SCO. He said the member countries contribute about 30 percent to global GDP, and 40 percent of the world's population also resides in SCO countries.

Prime Minister Modi also referred to the progress on making India a manufacturing hub. India's economy was expected to grow at 7.5 per cent this year, he said, adding that this would be the highest among the world's major economies.

There is also a lot of focus on proper use of technology in India's people-centric development model, he pointed out. "We are supporting innovation in every sector. Today there are over 70,000 start-ups in India, of which over 100 are unicorns," he said.

"This experience of ours can be of use to many other SCO members as well. For this purpose, we are ready to share our experience with the member countries of SCO by establishing a new Special Working Group on Startups and Innovation," Prime Minister Modi said.

FOOD SECURITY A MAJOR CHALLENGE, SAYS PM MODI

"The world today faces another major challenge – and that is ensuring the food security of our citizens," Prime Minister Modi told the gathering.

According to him, one possible solution to this problem was to promote the cultivation and consumption of millets. Millets is a superfood that has been grown for thousands of years, not only in SCO countries, but in many parts of the world, and is a traditional, nutritious and low-cost alternative to the food crisis.

"The year 2023 will be celebrated as the UN International Year of Millets. We should consider organizing a 'Millet Food Festival' under SCO," he suggested.

The Prime Minister also spoke about India being one of the most affordable destinations for medical and wellness tourism in the world today.

In this context, he referred to the WHO Global Center for Traditional Medicine which was inaugurated in Gujarat in April this year and said this would be the WHO's first and only Global Center for Traditional Medicine.

"We should increase cooperation on traditional medicine among SCO countries. For this, India will take initiative on a new SCO Working Group on Traditional Medicine," prime Minister Modi said.