SAMARKAND: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, September 16, attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is the first in-person summit being organised in two years in the historic Uzbek city in Samarkand.
Prior to the deliberations, PM Modi posed for a photograph with the SCO leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Modi also met Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of Uzbekistan.
In a tweet on Friday, the Prime Minister's Office wrote, "PM @narendramodi at the SCO Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan." Arindam Bagch, a spokesman for the ministry of external affairs, tweeted: "collaborating for the region PM @narendramodi joins the SCO Member State leaders for discussions on current, regional, and global concerns, such as global trade and connectivity, regional peace and security, culture, and tourism."
The Prime Minister will have private discussions with some of the other heads of state in attendance at the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan were founding members of the regional multilateral organisation in 2001. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
The Council of the SCO Heads of State, the organization's highest decision-making body, convenes every year for a summit that is hosted by a member state.
Since India became a full member of the SCO in 2017, Prime Minister Modi has been in charge of the Indian delegation to the SCO Summit each year. He took part in the virtual format at the most recent two summits in 2020 and 2021.
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SCO Summit to be held today, heads of many countries arrive in Samarkand