New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Uzbekistan on Friday.
The SCO is holding its first in-person summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand after two years. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the meeting besides Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
PM Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including with Putin, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev among other leaders. There has been no official confirmation over his meeting with Xi and Sharif.
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PM Modi’s Schedule At SCO Summit 2022 (according to Indian Standard Time):
- Reception for the heads of SCO member states at 10:10 am
- Group photo of the heads of the SCO member countries at 10:25 am. PM Modi will be accompanied by Russian President Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif for this session.
- Restricted format meeting of the SCO summit will be held from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. It will be a 1+1 meeting i.e. leaders will be accompanied by only their interpreters.
- A joint photo session of the leaders at 12:10 pm after the meeting.
- Extended delegation discussion will be held from 12:15 pm to 2.45 pm. Apart from the member countries, observers and special invitees will also participate in this session.
- The Samarkand Declaration will be signed after the meeting.
- Leaders attend the official banquet organised on behalf of Uzbekistan President from 2:45 pm to 4 pm. Leaders will meet here for lunch.
- PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Samarkand Regency Hotel from 4:10 pm to 4:45 pm.
- Bilateral meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to be held at the Congress Centre from 5:10 to 5:20 pm.
- Bilateral meeting with Iran President Ebrahim Raisi from 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm.
- Departure from Samarkand for Delhi at 7:20 pm IST.
The Prime Minister is expected to return to Delhi at 10:15 pm, ahead of his birthday celebration on Saturday (September 17).
“At the SCO Summit, I look forward to exchanging views on topical, regional and international issues, the expansion of SCO and further deepening of multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation within the Organisation,” PM Modi said in a pre-departure statement.
“Under the Uzbek chairship, a number of decisions for mutual cooperation are likely to be adopted in areas of trade, economy, culture and tourism,” he said.
MEA on Thursday informed that New Delhi expects the discussions of the SCO Summit to cover topical, regional, and international issues as well as reform and expansion of the SCO. Other subjects expected to be discussed include the security situation and cooperation in the region, including strengthening connectivity and boosting trade.
MEA On Bilateral Meetings With Leaders Of China, Pakistan, & Russia
On being asked about bilateral meetings with the leaders of China, Pakistan, and Russia, the Foreign Secretary responded saying: “Prime Minister will have other bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. We would keep you apprised as the schedule unfolds”, news agency ANI reported.
About SCO Summit 2022
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will hold its first in-person summit after the COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand. The two-day summit will provide the opportunity for all its eight heads of state to hold meetings and bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit on pressing global and regional issues of common concern.
The last in-person summit was held in Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek in the year 2019. After that in 2020, the Moscow summit was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic while the 2021 summit at Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe was held in hybrid mode.
Launched in Shanghai in June 2001, the SCO has eight full members, including its six founding members, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
SCO observer states include Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia, while Dialogue partners include Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, as well as Armenia, and Azerbaijan.