Putin, Jinping, Sharif to attend Modi's virtual SCO Summit today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to host the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Tuesday. Reportedly, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, among others, are expected to join the event. The summit will start at 12:30pm and conclude at 3:00pm on Tuesday.
Iran to become SCO's permanent member
Tuesday's summit will also welcome Iran as a new permanent member of the grouping and open a path to membership for Belarus, reported Reuters. Moreover, this will be Putin's first appearance at an international summit since he crushed an armed rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group last week. The summit could also see discussions on the Ukraine conflict, Afghanistan, terrorism, regional security, and more.
India, China's standoff continues at Ladakh border
This will also be the first time PM Modi and Xi share a virtual stage since November last year when the two leaders participated in the G20 Summit in Indonesia. Notably, India and China continue to be involved in a standoff on the Ladakh border. PM Modi will also interact with Sharif 10 months after they attended SCO Summit in Uzbekistan.
India has presidency of SCO and G20 this year
Formed in 2001 by Russia and China, the SCO includes eight permanent members: China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India became a full state member of the SCO in 2017. At the Samarkand Summit in 2022, India took over the presidency of SCO for the first time from Uzbekistan. The country will also host the G20 Summit in September.
