PM Modi meets Xi Jinping on sidelines of SCO Summit in Bishkek; calls it 'extremely fruitful meet'

PM Modi also extended advance greetings for Chinese President Xi Jinping's birthday, that falls on June 15, sources said.

Image tweeted by @MEAIndia

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Bishkek on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and extended advance birthday wishes for the latter who is turning 66 on June 15.  Post the meet, PM Modi said he had an "extremely fruitful meeting" with Jinping  where they discussed the "full spectrum of bilateral relations" as they vowed to work together to improve the economic and cultural ties. PM Modi held delegation level talks with Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit, which is the first multilateral engagement of Modi post his re-election. The meeting also comes a month after the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the powerful UN Security Council designated Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist after China lifted its technical hold on the proposal to blacklist him. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said after Modi-Xi meet that the leaders discussed all aspects of enriching the bilateral relations between the two countries. “Building on the momentum of high-level exchanges, PM @narendramodi had a warm meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Leaders discussed all aspects of enriching our bilateral relations & recognised the positive role of strategic communication in deepening our partnership,” Kumar tweeted.

Building on the momentum of high-level exchanges, PM @narendramodi had a warm meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Leaders discussed all aspects of enriching our bilateral relations & recognised the positive role of strategic communication in deepening our partnership. pic.twitter.com/l4OYqLSvmy

— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) June 13, 2019

The meeting began with President Xi congratulating Prime Minister Modi over his election victory. "After the election results in India, I got your message, and today again you wish me on the victory, I am very grateful to you for this," Modi replied. Xi had extended "heartfelt congratulations" to Prime Minister Modi for winning the general elections last month, in a rare gesture of greeting a foreign leader well before the official announcement of the results. "On behalf of all Indians, I wish you a very happy birthday," Modi told Xi, greeting the Chinese leader who will turn 66 on June 15. "As you said, in the days to come, we both can progress on several subjects. We both have a contemporary tenure to work more," he said. "After our meeting in Wuhan, we have seen a new momentum and stability in our relations. There has been a rapid progress in the strategic communication between the two sides, leading to be more sensitive towards each other's concerns and interests. And there has been new areas for further cooperation since then," Modi told Xi in his opening remarks. Modi, in a statement before his two-day visit to Bishkek from June 13-14, said that on the sidelines of the SCO Summit, he also plans to meet several leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. "We attach special importance to SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interaction in the region. India has actively participated in various SCO dialogue mechanisms since its full membership of SCO two years ago," he said on Wednesday. India has extended full cooperation to the chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic over the past year, Modi said. "The summit is expected to discuss the global security situation, multilateral economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and topical issues of international and regional importance. On the sidelines of the summit, I also plan to meet several leaders bilaterally," he said. (additional inputs from PTI)