Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that connectivity with India’s neighbours and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was a priority for his government. He was speaking at the plenary session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit being held in China’s Qingdao city.

“We have again reached a stage where physical and digital connectivity is changing the definition of geography,” Modi said. “Therefore, connectivity with our neighbourhood and in the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organisation] region is our priority.”

Modi also floated the concept of SECURE, or security for citizens, economic development, connectivity in the region, unity, respect of sovereignty, and environment protection.

The prime minister also cited Afghanistan as an “unfortunate example” of terrorism, PTI reported. “I hope the brave steps towards peace taken by President [Ashraf] Ghani will be respected by all in the region,” he said, in an apparent reference to the country’s declaration of a ceasefire with the Taliban in the week of Eid-ul-Fitr, from June 12 to June 19. The Afghan branch of the Taliban terrorist group on Saturday also announced a three-day ceasefire over the Eid holiday.

Observing that only 6% of India’s foreign tourists are from SCO countries, he said this can be doubled with a few measures. “Increasing awareness of our shared cultures can help boost this number,” he said. “We will organise a SCO food festival and a Buddhist festival in India.”

Modi on Saturday met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Qingdao on the sidelines of the two-day summit, during which Beijing agreed to share hydrological information of the Brahmaputra river with New Delhi and agreed to let India export non-basmati rice. Modi had also met the organisation’s Secretary General Rashid Alimov on Saturday.

India became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in 2017. Other full members are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Chinese President Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain also attended the summit.