Prime Minister Narendar Modi is set to land in Samarkand late Thursday evening to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which will officially get underway on September 16.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendar Modi is set to land in Samarkand late Thursday evening to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which will officially get underway on September 16. The West is watching Modi’s visit minutely because it has pegged this bloc as anti-West due to the presence of Russia, China, and Iran at the summit.
The Indian envoy to Uzbekistan, Ambassador Manish Prabhat, said, “India is very clear, and this has been said on SCO platforms also, that SCO is not an organisation which is against any other bloc of countries or any other country. The SCO is a global initiative to promote constructive cooperation, peace, and stability.
PM Modi will have a packed schedule. He will be engaged in bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. There has not been any confirmation regarding Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping or his Pakistani counterpart, Shahbaz Sharif. It is expected that PM Modi would meet with Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
India’s aim is to push economic cooperation and connectivity.
The SCO summit will kick off on Friday, September 16, at the Congress Centre, the main convention hall in the tourist city.
Apart from the important talks, arrangements have been made for a formal lunch for leaders. In their leisure time, the leaders are likely to visit the Eternal City, built inside the Tourist Centre. From there, they may go on boat rides. The main summit is likely to be finished around 3 pm. After that, leaders will get a chance to hold bilateral meetings.
Prime Minister Modi will land on September 15th around 6 pm and, after all the engagements, will return India on Friday night.
