PM Modi to host SCO summit virtually today, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping likely to join
The next Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit will be hosted by India virtually on Tuesday. The summit is set to be joined by all SCO member states including China and Pakistan. Major highlight will be the participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be the part of the summit.
Notably, Russia has been facing criticism from across the world for instigating war against Ukraine. In a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin on June 30, the two leaders discussed issues of bilateral cooperation including SCO and G20. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will discuss key issues including terrorism, regional security and prosperity.
India's chairship of SCO is based on the theme SECURE, which stands for S: Security, E: Economic development, C: Connectivity, U: Unity, R: Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, E: Environmental protection. The theme of India's chairship of SCO draws its inspiration from the acronym coined by PM Modi at the SCO Qingdao Summit in 2018. Other than Pakistan and China, other SCO members like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are expected to take part in the summit virtually.
Other than the member countries, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia have been invited as Observer States. As per the SCO tradition, Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the Chair. Heads of the two SCO Bodies, the Secretariat and the SCO RATS, will also be present.
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