External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reached Astana in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, to lead the Indian delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State in place of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 3 and 4, the Ministry of External Affairs has said.
Leaders of other countries in the Eurasian group, newly expanded to include Belarus this year, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and the Presidents of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be hosted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Astana for a State visit and bilateral meetings ahead of the SCO, while Iran’s President may not be able to attend as the country is in the middle of elections.
Shortly after landing, Mr. Jaishankar met with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu. In a social media post, he said that he had “discussed our expanding strategic partnership and India’s increasing engagement with Central Asia in various formats.”
The summit is expected to begin with a reception on July 3, and Mr. Jaishankar is expected to address the grouping during the plenary session in Astana on July 4 morning.
“At the summit, the leaders are expected to review the organisation’s activities over the past two decades and discuss the state and prospects of multilateral cooperation. Topical issues of regional and international importance are also expected to be discussed at the meeting,” the MEA said in a press release on Tuesday, which did not give any reason for Mr. Modi’s decision not to attend the summit on July 4.
While Mr. Modi may still address the Eurasian grouping virtually, his decision to drop out of the summit in Kazakhstan will avoid awkward moments from sharing the stage with the Chinese President and Pakistan PM, given the tense ties with both countries. He is due to meet the Russian President next week in Moscow for a bilateral visit on July 8 and 9. However, the absence could disappoint the Central Asian leadership, given that Mr. Modi’s planned engagements with them have been cancelled twice in recent years, once when they were invited to India for Republic Day in 2022 (the visit was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and when India turned the SCO Summit in July 2023 into a virtual format. Given that the next SCO Heads of Government meet is due to be held in Pakistan later this year, and the next SCO Summit will be hosted by China in 2025, it remains to be seen whether Mr. Modi will attend future SCO events as well.
Astana Declaration
On Thursday, the SCO Council will adopt the Astana Declaration, which is expected to focus on strengthening ties between SCO countries on economic issues, connectivity, fighting terrorism and regional developments. During the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting in May, MEA Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi had promoted “maximising the utilisation of the Chabahar Port” as well as using the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) connecting India to Central Asia and Russia via Iran, and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) that has been stalled due to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Pakistan PM Mr. Sharif is expected to also offer Qasim port and Gwadar port for land-locked Central Asia’s trade routes. India and Pakistan both became members of the SCO in 2017, and their leaders have often sparred at the high-level meetings over issues like terrorism and transit trade, including in Uzbekistan in 2022, and last year’s SCO Foreign Minister’s meeting in Goa.
The leaders are also expected to discuss developments in Afghanistan, including the latest talks held by the United Nations in Doha this week, given that nearly all SCO members are engaged closely with the Taliban regime in Kabul. The present membership of the SCO, which was started in 2001, comprises China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Iran became a full member in 2023, and Belarus is due to be inducted during the meeting in Astana.
Published - July 02, 2024 10:44 pm IST
