Although the MEA did not specify which leaders the PM will see individually, it is “expected that he will have a few bilateral discussions on the margins of the summit.”
The first in-person SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) meeting since the COVID-19 epidemic will take place in Samarkand this week, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be there, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Even though all three leaders attended a virtual BRICS summit in June, PM Modi will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit in Uzbekistan for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, as The Hindu reported in July. PM Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since the standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) began in April 2020.
What more can be expected at the summit
The Prime Minister is “likely to have a few bilateral talks on the margins of the summit,” according to the MEA statement, although it wasn’t made clear with which leaders he would meet privately. After their armies last week announced a disengagement plan at PP15, one of several points of friction, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi, who have not spoken directly since the standoff began despite having met 18 times prior to that since 2014, will now be able to engage in a more cordial dialogue.
The leaders of Turkey’s and Belarus’s partner countries, as well as the leaders of Central Asia, Pakistan, and Iran, will also be at the SCO summit.
The leaders are anticipated to address the current situation and possibilities of multilateral cooperation, the organization’s efforts over the previous 20 years during the summit as well as cover timely problems of regional and international significance, according to the announcement.
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