Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began his China visit for attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, which is set to start on Sunday, after a two-day successful visit to Japan.
The SCO Summit, taking place from August 31 to September 1, marks PM Modi’s first visit to China in seven years and the first since the Galwan Valley clash along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in June 2020. Ahead of his two-nation tour, PM Modi said in his departure statement, “I will travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
India is a dynamic and positive member of the SCO. In our Presidency, we have brought fresh ideas and launched cooperation in areas of innovation, health and cultural exchanges." He reiterated that India "remains committed to working with the SCO members to address shared challenges and deepen regional cooperation."
I also eagerly await meeting President Xi Jinping, President Putin and other leaders informally during the Summit," PM Modi further said. The two leaders have already met at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in 2024.
This new interaction comes after India and China agreed on patrolling the almost 3,500-km LAC, which saw an end to the four-year-old border standoff.
The SCO, a permanent intergovernmental organization, was formed in Shanghai on 15 June 2001 and is made up of China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus. Afghanistan and Mongolia are observers, and 14 nations, including Turkey, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, and Nepal, are dialogue partners. Others include Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, the Maldives, Myanmar, and the United Arab Emirates.
In his Japan trip, PM Modi had a series of top-level meetings and participated in the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit. The PM also met the governors of 16 Japanese prefectures, looking for collaboration between Japanese and Indian states through fresh initiatives and linkages, asking them to make their contribution to "India's growth story.
Prior to this, PM Modi had reached Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, and rode the Shinkansen bullet train with Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba. They went to Tokyo Electron Miyagi Ltd (TEL Miyagi), a leading Japanese semiconductor company, in Sendai.
I met Prime Minister Ishiba and Tokyo Electron's facility. I took a look at the training room and the Production Innovation Lab, as well as discussed with the company's top managers," PM Modi tweeted on X. "Semiconductors are valuable sector of India-Japan cooperation. India has made great strides in this area in recent years and numerous young people are entering into this field these days. I want to keep up this pace in the years to come as well," he further said.
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