New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be face to face with Chinese President Xi Jinping and several other top leaders during the virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held today. The leaders will discuss a wide range of issues, including ways to recover from the adverse economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the rising threat of terrorism, etc.
The SCO Summit of Heads of State is the main unit of the organisation that sets the agenda and gives political, security, trade, economic and cultural directions to the 8-member body. Apart from the members Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, four Observer States — Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia — will also participate in the summit.
Interestingly, PM Modi and President Xi would be virtually face to face for the first time since the border tensions escalated between India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
While the meeting will be held virtually because of the global pandemic, it will still provide Modi an opportunity to reiterate in the presence of Xi the need for all to respect sovereignty and regional integrity and also to ensure transparency while pursuing connectivity initiatives. Two leaders won’t be able to have a bilateral meeting unlike when they met at the Bishkek SCO summit last year and discussed issues related to the border.
Besides SCO Summit, Modi will also share a virtual platform with the Chinese President on November 17 for the BRICS meeting and on November 21-22 for the G-20 summit. The two leaders have met at least 18 times in the last six years but last shared a platform on March 26 when Saudi Arabia held a virtual G-20 gathering over the Covid pandemic.
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