Jaishankar invited to SCO meet at Tajikistan, Afghanistan's situation to be the focus; Details inside-

New Delhi, July 13: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Tajikistan on July 13-14 to attend the SCO Council meeting of Foreign Ministers and the Contact Group on Afghanistan. The meet will be focused on reviewing the worsening security situation in that country after the decision on the withdrawal of American forces to the US.

 

 

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are also expected to attend these meetings. According to the reports, the minister will be holding bilateral talks with some of the participating countries. However, there was no official word on any bilateral interaction with Pakistan or China.

 

 

Announcing Jaishankar’s visit, the external affairs ministry said the foreign ministers’ conference will also assess the preparation for the upcoming meeting of SCO Council of Heads of States on September 16-17 in Dushanbe, and exchange views on current international and regional issues.

 

 

 

The MEA also added that during the visit, the external affairs minister will also attend the meeting of the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan on July 14. This meeting will also see the participation of the Afghanistan government, the MEA said. This comes as there are growing global concerns over the Taliban forces rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas in Afghanistan, triggering huge security concerns.

 

 

India has evacuated nationals and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar due to the intensifying situation between Afghan forces and Taliban militants. Afghanistan has been going through a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.

 

India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly USD three billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

 

 

The minister is also expected to travel to Uzbekistan for a connectivity meet after the Tajikistan trip, sources said. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.