Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China later this week to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, the Kremlin announced on Wednesday. Authorities mentioned that arrangements are in place to finalise the Russian president's bilateral talks that are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the conference.
Answering a question on whether President Putin will hold a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the summit, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov mentioned, "We are now preparing a schedule of meetings of a bilateral nature, which will have to be added to the events that will be organized by our Chinese friends. Once it is agreed on, we will tell you," as cited by Russia's state news agency Tass.
The summit will take place from August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin, China, and will have Putin, along with leaders from over 20 participating countries. Founded on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, the SCO is a permanent intergovernmental organization that facilitates political, security, and economic cooperation.
Its full members are China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus. Afghanistan and Mongolia have observer status, while 14 nations — including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Armenia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, the Maldives, Cambodia, Myanmar, and the UAE — are dialogue partners.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be in Tianjin at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping following a two-day visit to Japan. "On the margin of the Summit, Prime Minister is likely to have bilateral meetings with various leaders participating in the Summit. India joined SCO in 2017. It was the Chair of the Council of Heads of State of SCO in 2022-23," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated in a release.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, during a press briefing on Tuesday, elaborated on the Prime Minister’s upcoming engagements. He explained that work was ongoing to confirm Modi’s bilateral meetings in Tianjin. When probed regarding the question of a one-on-one between PM Modi and President Putin, Misri explained, "Look, as always is the case with respect to such events, there will be a series of bilateral meetings that will be arranged on the sidelines. We are still in the process of finalizing those meetings and will update you and brief you in any eventuality on the course of those meetings. I think prior to the meetings, it would be a bit premature of me to presume and say what will be discussed and will not be discussed in the meetings."
Read also| Corruption in Pakistan’s Institutions, Blames Military as Core Source of Decay: Report
