Xi Jingping said Beijing would support India in organizing the summit next year. (file photo)
New Delhi:
Chinese President Xi Jingping today greeted India on assuming the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and said Beijing will support New Delhi in organizing the summit next year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping came face-to-face today for the first time since the start of the military standoff in Ladakh in 2020 at the regional summit in the historic city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
Although there is speculation about a possible bilateral meeting between PM Modi and the Chinese President, the government has neither confirmed nor denied it. When asked about the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “When the schedule of the Prime Minister’s bilateral meetings comes out, we will keep you fully informed.” China has also not confirmed the meeting between the two leaders.
The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed the face-to-face between PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during which they are expected to talk about overall trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supply. PM Modi will also hold talks with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi.
PM Modi, who was one of the last leaders to reach Samarkand, today formally began his participation in the regional summit, beginning with a group photo with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and leaders of other member states of the influential grouping. Happened together
Addressing world leaders, PM Modi talked about the need for better connectivity in the regional grouping to deal with the lack of food and energy crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
PM Modi said, “SCO needs to focus on bringing diversified and resilient supply chain… it needs better connectivity and access to transit.”
The PM said that our people-centred development model is focusing on innovative use of technology, and India stands ready to cooperate with SCO countries.
He said, “We are working towards turning India into a manufacturing hub. We are supporting innovation in every field. Today we have more than 70,000 start-ups and over 100 unicorns in our country.”
India will host the summit in 2023, which will begin the process of Iran becoming a full member of the influential grouping of eight countries.
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.