Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to talk tough on terrorism at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit being hosted by India in virtual mode on 4 July. Significantly, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be attending the virtual summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to be in attendance. Sources told The Daily Guardian that PM Modi is expected to underscore the aim of the SCO to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism. “Though the virtual summit has its certain constraints and limitations for the participants to communicate their views, PM Modi will use the opportunity to ventilate his strong views against terrorism. He may hit out hard at the countries which sponsor, aid and support terrorism,” sources said. “The SCO summit will deliberate on regional security challenges under which the issue of terrorism will figure prominently,” sources explained.
“All eyes will, at the same time, be on whether Sharif tries to refer to Kashmir during his speech during the SCO summit. However, there is hardly any chance for the Pakistani leader to do so due to the virtual mode of the meeting,” officials said.
After Jinping, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif has also agreed to take part in the 23rd Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS), which will be hosted by India. The virtual meet will be held on 4 July. The invitation to PM Sharif to attend the SCO-CHS was extended by PM Modi, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. At the summit, the leaders are expected to discuss important global and regional issues and chart the future direction of cooperation among SCO Member States. This year, the SCO CHS will also welcome Iran as a new member of the organisation, it said. Earlier in the day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also confirmed that Xi will attend the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), being hosted by India.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced, “At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend via video conference in Beijing the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and deliver important remarks on 4 July.” “The theme of the Summit is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’. The SECURE acronym was coined by the Prime Minister at the 2018 SCO Summit and stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment. These themes have been highlighted during our Chairmanship of SCO,” the statement read.
Sources said that Putin is also expected to participate in the SCO Summit that will be chaired by PM Modi virtually. Ahead of the meeting, Putin called Modi a “great friend” of Russia. Putin also praised India’s Make in India initiative and its “visible effect” on the Indian economy. In adherence to SCO protocol, Turkmenistan has been invited as the guest of the Chair. Additionally, the heads of the two SCO Bodies, namely the Secretariat and the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), will be in attendance. Furthermore, leaders from six international and regional organizations, including the United Nations (UN), ASEAN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU, and CICA, have also been invited to the summit. India currently holds the rotational presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) until September 2023. Since then, India has hosted a total of 134 meetings and events, including 14 Ministerial-level meetings. India has said it is committed to playing a positive and constructive role in the organisation and looks forward to a successful SCO Summit as the culmination of its Chairmanship.