21st SCO Summit to be held on Sept 17, PM Modi to address meet virtually

New Delhi, September 15: The Ministry of External affairs on Wednesday informed that the 21st meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Heads of State will be held in Tajikistan's Dushanbe on September 17.

 

The MEA also further informed that Prime minister Narendra Modi will virtually lead the Indian delegation and address a plenary session at the meeting of the Council of Heads of State at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Dushanbe on Friday.

 

Meanwhile, India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar would represent India in a key meeting at the summit in Tajikistan's capital.

 

 

 

The SCO is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It will be the first SCO Summit being held in a hybrid format and the fourth Summit that India will participate as a full-fledged member of SCO. The event will be attended by the leaders of SCO Member States, Observer States, the SCO Secretary-General, Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the President of Turkmenistan, and other guests.

 

At the Summit, S Jaishankar is expected to hold a series of bilateral discussions with his counterparts from Iran, Tajikistan, and Russia. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also be in Dushanbe, however, there is no information that whether Jaishankar would meet them.

 

The discussions are likely to be focused on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and its implication on regional security. Besides, the leaders are expected to review the SCO's activities over the past two decades and discuss the state and prospects of future cooperation. Topical issues of regional and international importance are also expected to be discussed.

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