India is all set to virtually host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit today where Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Summit is expected to focus on regional security situation and ways to boost connectivity and trade.
This will be Putin's first participation in a multilateral summit after a mercenary group launched a short-lived armed rebellion that rocked Moscow. The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) under India's presidency is also set to welcome Iran as the new permanent member of the grouping.
The situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict and enhancing cooperation among the SCO member countries are expected to figure in the summit, people familiar with the matter said, adding boosting connectivity and trade is also likely to be discussed, news agency PTI reported.
The summit is taking place against the backdrop of the over three-year eastern Ladakh border standoff between Indian and Chinese troops, and two weeks after PM Modi was hosted by US President Joe Biden for a state visit.
Formed in 2001 by China and Russia, with former Soviet central Asian states as members and joined later by India and Pakistan, the eight-member SCO is a political and security group that seeks to counter western influence in Eurasia.
India's association with the SCO began in 2005 as an observer country. It became a full member state of SCO at the Astana summit in 2017.
India, which holds the presidency of SCO and the G20 this year, has walked a diplomatic tightrope as relations between western nations and a Russia-China partnership have been fraught due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year, and Beijing’s growing assertive presence in the global geopolitical theatre.
On Tuesday, the summit will also see Modi sharing the virtual stage with Xi for the first time since November when the two leaders were present for the G20 summit in Indonesia.
India's presidency of the SCO saw significant activities in a number of areas. New Delhi created five new pillars for cooperation in SCO. These are startups and innovation, traditional medicine, digital inclusion, youth empowerment and shared Buddhist heritage.
The special working group on startups and innovation and experts working group on traditional medicine were created on India's initiative.
(With agency inputs)
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