NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with Russia, Iran and Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Samarkand on Friday. He was received by his Uzbekistan counterpart Abdulla Aripov at Samarkand on Thursday night.“India will have bilateral talks with Russia, Iran and Uzbekistan after the Summit meeting gets over on Friday,” according to sources.
This newspaper was the first to report about the bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Summit on September 12.“I will be visiting Samarkand at the invitation of President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to attend the Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,’’ the PM said before he left for Samarkand.
During the summit, Modi will exchange views on topical, regional and international issues, expansion of SCO and deepening of multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation within the organisation.“Under the Uzbek chairmanship, a number of decisions for mutual cooperation is likely to be adopted in areas of trade, economy, culture and tourism,’’ Modi said.
The SCO, set up in 2001, is a regional multilateral organisation that has eight member states – India, Russia, Iran, China, Kazakhstan, Kygyzstan, Tajikstan and Uzbekistan.“India became a full member of SCO in 2017 and PM Modi has been leading the Indian delegation to the SCO Summit every year since then. After two years in virtual format due to the outbreak of the pandemic, the summit will be in person,’’ said Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, who is a part of the delegation, along with other officials.
The summit will have two sessions – the first one will be restricted to SCO members and the second will include participation of observers (Iran, Mongolia, Belarus) and special guests, which includes Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Armenia. Regional organisations like ASEAN, Director SCO RATS (Regional Anti Terrorist Structure) will be a part of it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Xi Jingping and Pakistan’s PM Shehbaaz Sharif in Samarkand on Thursday. Putin backed Beijing’s “One China” policy and opposed “provocations by the US in Taiwan Strait”.“We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis,’’ Putin said.
Friday's engagements
When the Summit begins on Friday, there will be many bilaterals that are expected to take place between India and other members. India has confirmed a bilateral with Uzbekistan, while Russia has confirmed a bilateral between PM Modi and Putin. The other likely bilateral that India could be with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.