SCO meet: EAM Jaishankar likely to meet Chinese counterpart

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will be attending the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organization scheduled to be held in Moscow on 9-10 September. He left for Moscow on Tuesday and according to sources, he is expected to reach in the evening.

New Delhi: Amid the border standoff between India and China, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will be attending the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organization scheduled to be held in Moscow on 9-10 September. He left for Moscow on Tuesday and according to sources, he is expected to reach in the evening.

EAM’s visit will include the participation in the Council’s meeting and other bilateral meetings. The CFM meeting in Moscow will review the preparations for the forthcoming SCO summit and also exchange views on international and regional issues. This will be the third CFM meeting that India will be attending as a member of SCO.

Earlier two meetings were held in Beijing on 23-24 April 2018 and Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) on 21-22 May 2019, the minister informed.

The SCO meeting will be chaired by the current chair of SCO, Russia and the discussion will lay the ground for the upcoming session of SCO Heads of State Council expected to be held later this year.

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The foreign ministers at SCO will discuss key international and regional issues in the context of the 75th UN anniversary. The deliberations will be centred around a number of urgent foreign policy issues as well as decisions aimed at further developing SCO activities on overcoming the global political and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, said a press statement from the Russian foreign ministry.

EAM Jiashankar’s Moscow visit comes days after Defense minister Rajnath Singh visited the Russian capital last week to attend the SCO Defense minister’s meeting. The defence minister also held several bilateral meetings with the member states including Russia and China.

Though Rajnath Singh had a 90-minute bilateral with his Chinese counterpart, it remains to be seen if Jaishankar will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO meet.

India has been taking an active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms. The SCO Summit will be held in the near future.

Earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement where he stated that Russia regards S Jaishankar’s visit to Moscow as an important step in maintaining these intense dynamics.

The ministers plan to discuss the wide range of bilateral cooperation issues as well as current issues on the regional and international agendas.