Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are required to meet face-to-face virtually at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on November 10. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said Modi will lead the Indian delegation at the summit.
“The prime minister will lead the Indian delegation to the 20th summit of the SCO council of heads of state which will be held in the virtual format on Nov 10. The meeting will be chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin,” MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
India has been focusing on growing its participation with the SCO, an eight-country regional grouping, that represents around 42 percent of the world’s population and 20% of the global GDP.
The Chinese delegation at the summit is required to be led by President Jinping.
The SCO summit is occurring when India and China, two of the bloc’s individuals, are occupied with a tense border standoff for more than a half year in eastern Ladakh.
The two sides have held a series of diplomatic and military converses to resolve the row. In any case, no breakthrough has been accomplished to end the standoff.
Srivastava said India will have a summit of the council of heads of government of the SCO on November 30 in the virtual format in which PMs of the member nations of the bloc will take an interest.
The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, has developed as one of the biggest transregional international associations. The aim of the SCO is to look after peace, strength and security of the region.
India became a member of SCO in 2017.
Modi and Xi are relied upon to meet face-to-face virtually during the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) summit on November 17, and the G20 summit on November 22.
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