Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time he will meet the Chinese president face to face Xi Jinping, given that the current military confrontation was reported in May of this year, in the 20 SCO heads of the state summit to be held virtually on Tuesday.
Cross-border terrorism, Afghanistan, economic cooperation with a focus on connectivity, energy, and efforts to contain Covid-19 are among the top items on Modi’s agenda for the Eurasian group meeting to be chaired by Russian President Vladimir. Putin and who will also see participation. from Pakistan PM Imran khan.
While the meeting will be held virtually due to the global pandemic, it will still provide Modi with an opportunity to reiterate in Xi’s presence the need for everyone to respect regional sovereignty and integrity and also to ensure transparency while pursuing initiatives of connectivity. However, the virtual format also means that the two leaders will not be able to have a bilateral meeting, unlike when they met at the Bishkek SCO summit last year and discussed border-related issues.
India and China remain locked in a tense standoff in eastern Ladakh, and while the situation appears to be calming down, efforts to achieve breakthrough in 8 rounds of disengagement and de-escalation talks have yet to bear fruit.
With Khan watching, Modi is also likely to call for action against countries that support terrorism. At the last SCO summit, Modi called for an international conference to combat terrorism. Interestingly, while Khan has confirmed his participation for the summit to be held by Russia on Tuesday, Islamabad has yet to convey to India who will represent Pakistan at the SCO heads of government meeting to be hosted virtually by India on November 30. India has invited Khan under the SCO Charter, but he is likely to stay away, as at the Saarc Covid meeting hosted by Modi earlier this year, and ask one of his ministers to represent him.
Official sources said that in addition to the Moscow Declaration on Tuesday, there will be statements from the SCO on topics such as the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Second World War, the digital economy, the covid-19, the fight against the spread of terrorism, even on the Internet, and the threat of drugs.
“There will also be other decisions regarding large projects and initiatives in the commercial and economic sphere of activities. The report of the activities of the OCS Secretariat and the SCO RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure) will also be adopted, “said a source.
Afghanistan remains one of the SCO’s main focus areas and with the country in the midst of yet another peace process, Modi is likely to reiterate India’s support for an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled peace process. . The member states consider that a rapid resolution of the situation in Afghanistan is essential to improve peace and stability in the SCO space.
Modi has participated in all the SCO heads of state summits since 2017, when India, and also Pakistan, became full members of the group. The summit deals with all topics related to the group, including political, security, business, economic and cultural.
The annual summit leaders will be held for the first time in virtual format. Russia is the current president of the SCO. Heads of state of the 8 member states: Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be present at the meeting.
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