PM Modi, Xi Jinping & Pak' Imran Khan To Come Face To Face At SCO Summit; Cross-Border Terrorism To Be On Discussion Table

Cross-Border Terrorism, Afghanistan, economic connectivity, energy, and efforts to contain the Covid-19 are among the major issues that India is going to table at the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit meeting.

Photo: ANI

Amid the ongoing Indo-China Border dispute over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be coming face to face with the Chinese Primer Xi Jinping at the 20^th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit meeting, that will be held virtually. Cross-Border Terrorism, Afghanistan, economic connectivity, energy, and efforts to contain the Covid-19 are among the major issues that India is going to table. The meeting will be chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and will also be seeing the participation of Pakistani PM Imran Khan. According to sources, PM Modi will reiterate the need for all to honor regional integrity and sovereignty. Due to the pandemic, the meeting is being held virtually. This would mean that PM Modi and Xi will not be able to hold a bilateral. During the Bishkek SCO summit in 2019, the two leaders held a bilateral. As India and China remain locked in a tense standoff in eastern Ladakh and, while the situation seems to be calming down, efforts to arrive at a breakthrough in 8 rounds of talks for disengagement and de-escalation have not yet yielded any result. With the Pakistani PM watching, Modi is also likely to call for action against countries that support terrorism. In the last SCO summit, Modi called for an international conference to combat terrorism. It is worth mentioning, while Khan has confirmed his participation in the summit that will be held by Russia on Tuesday, Islamabad is yet to convey to India who will represent Pakistan in the SCO heads of the government meeting that will be hosted virtually by India on November 30. India has invited Khan as per the SCO Charter but he’s likely to stay away, like with the SAARC Covid-19 meeting hosted by Modi earlier this year. There will be SCO statements on issues like the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of World War II, digital economy, covid-19, countering the spread of terrorism, including on the Internet, and drug threat, According to official sources, apart from the Moscow Declaration on Tuesday. “There will also be other decisions relating to major projects and initiatives in trade and economic sphere of activities. The report of the activities of the SCO Secretariat and the SCO RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure) will also be adopted,” said a source. Afghanistan still remains one of the major focus areas for SCO and with the country in the middle of another peace process, PM Modi is likely to reiterate India’s support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled inclusive peace process. A prompt resolution of the situation in Afghanistan is seen as essential by member states for enhancing peace and stability in the SCO space. Since 2017, Modi has participated in all SCO heads of state summit, when India, and also Pakistan, became a full member of the group. The summit deals with all issues related to the group including political, security, trade, economic, and cultural. The annual heads of the state summit will be held for the first time in virtual format due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Russia is the current Chair of SCO. Heads of states of all 8 member states – Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will be present in the meeting.