New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is all set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the gathering of SCO leaders where minister Jaishankar will be present.
EAM Jaishankar is on a four-day visit to Moscow which came days after Defense minister Rajnath Singh's visit to the Russian capital last week to attend the SCO Defense ministers' 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.
The discussion at SCO will lay the ground for the upcoming session of SCO Heads of State Council expected to be held later this year.
According to a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, 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.
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Earlier today, EAM Jaishankar held bilateral talks with Kyrgyzstan Foreign minister Chingiz Aibarbekov on SCO sidelines.
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A fruitful meeting with FM Chingiz Aidarbekov of Kyrgyz Republic on SCO sidelines. Thanked him for the support in facilitating return of Indian nationals. Discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest. Agreed to further enhance our Strategic Partnership in all spheres. pic.twitter.com/XySOnoZFKS
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 9, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">A fruitful meeting with FM Chingiz Aidarbekov of Kyrgyz Republic on SCO sidelines. Thanked him for the support in facilitating return of Indian nationals. Discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest. Agreed to further enhance our Strategic Partnership in all spheres. pic.twitter.com/XySOnoZFKS
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 9, 2020A fruitful meeting with FM Chingiz Aidarbekov of Kyrgyz Republic on SCO sidelines. Thanked him for the support in facilitating return of Indian nationals. Discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest. Agreed to further enhance our Strategic Partnership in all spheres. pic.twitter.com/XySOnoZFKS
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 9, 2020
Jaishankar took to the twitter and wrote, "A fruitful meeting with FM Chingiz Aibarbekov of Kyrgyz Republic on SCO sidelines. Thanked him for the support in facilitating the return of Indian nationals. Discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest. Agreed to further enhance our strategic partnership in all spheres."
Earlier, Jaishankar congratulated his Tajikistan counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin and the government and the people of Tajikistan on their Independence.
He said, "Our Strategic Partnership continues to reach newer heights."
Tajikistan became an independent country in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet. Moreover, the relation between India and Tajikistan has been traditionally close and cordial.
It is pertinent to note that India has been taking an active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms. The SCO Summit will be held in the near future. Earlier two meetings were held in Beijing on 23-24 April 2018 and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) on 21-22 May 2019.
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