NEW DELHI: PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held delegation level talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
This is the first meeting between the two leaders after Modi’s re-election following the stunning victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the general elections last month.
The first of the meetings was with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where both sides focused on how to take the ties forward.During the meeting, Xi Jinping congratulated PM Modi in person on his re-election as India’s prime minister.
After meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to meet president of Kazakhstan today and hold bilateral meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
PM Modi had also met Jinping on Thursday, where the Chinese president assured the prime minister that China “does not pose threat” to India. PM Modi also voiced his support for Afghanistan in its “endeavours towards peace and prosperity for its citizens”.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Putin invited Modi formally to be the main guest at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Vladivostok in early September, which the prime minister warmly accepted.PM Modi highlighted the importance of cooperation as he gave the example of Bangladesh and the ties it has with India.
The SCO as we know it now was originally rooted in a 1995 treaty, and dubbed the Shanghai Five in 1996, with China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan as members.
Uzbekistan joined in 2001 and the group — initially focused closely on military and border matters between China and what had been the Soviet Union until 1991 — transformed into an SCO with ambitions of deeper cooperation.
