Annual SCO summit to be held under chairmanship of Russia

Annual SCO summit will be held under the leadership of Russia. The 20th meeting of the Council of Heads of State will discuss a range of issues about regional and global affairs.

New Delhi: Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will convene at the highest level on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Russia.

This virtual meeting will be the 20th meeting of the Council of Heads of State held in the backdrop of major regional and global developments.

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The summit scheduled at 2.30 IST, is crucial as it provides an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping to share the stage amid the ongoing military stand-off, which first started in June.

This is the 3rd meeting in which New Delhi will be participating as a full member. It was granted the observer status of SCO in 2005 and in June 2017 it became a full member.

The summit is expected to conclude with the release of a Moscow declaration which will reflect the broad agenda of the bloc for 2021.

The summit on Tuesday is expected to focus on the discussion of the current state of cooperation within the organization and the ways to enhance it, Sputnik reported. The SCO heads of state are also expected to discuss a range of issues about regional and global affairs.

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Other major leaders that will attend the SCO meet include Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, Russian President Putin, and leaders of four Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

ANI