Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Samarkand this week to attend the first in-person summit of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) countries since the COVID-19 pandemic, in Samarkand, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
As The Hindu had reported in July, the summit in Uzbekistan will be the first time Mr. Modi will come face to face with Chinese President Xi Jinping since the stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) began in April 2020, and the first time he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion in Ukraine, although all three leaders attended a virtual BRICS summit in June.
The MEA statement said that the Prime Minister is “likely to hold a few bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Summit”, but didn’t confirm which leaders he plans to meet separately. Last week, the Indian and Chinese armies announced a disengagement plan at PP15, one of several friction points, setting the stage for a more cordial engagement between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi, who have not spoken directly since the stand-off began, although they had met 18 times prior to that since 2014.
Other leaders at the SCO summit will include the member Central Asian countries, and Pakistan and Iran, as well as leaders from Turkey and Belarus, which are partner countries.
“During the Summit, the leaders are expected to review the organization’s activities over the past two decades and discuss the state and prospects of multilateral cooperation in the future. Topical issues of regional and global importance are also expected to be discussed at the meeting,” the statement said.
