SCO Summit: Modi meets Putin, Erdogan, Raisi, discuss Ukraine war, Afghanistan

SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) annual summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan was participated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, China’s President Xi Jinping among other member states heads. On the sidelines of the SCO summit, Prime Minister Modi held bilateral meetings with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev. “PM Narendra Modi shared India’s perspective on the regional and international situation and the issues of regional peace and security including in Afghanistan at the SCO meet,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Friday.

Modi and Putin

“Today’s era isn’t of war and I’ve spoken to you about it on call. Today, we’ll get the opportunity to talk about how can we progress on the path of peace. India and Russia have stayed together with each other for several decades,” Mr. Modi told Putin during the bilateral meeting. Putin has also reassured Modi that he is aware of his concerns and that he too wanted the Ukraine conflict “to end as soon as possible”. Modi added that the Russia and Ukraine conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

Modi and Putin have shared bond of friendship that has strengthened over time. “Everyone knows of our relations and friendship. Our relations are getting stronger… we are working for the people. I am hopeful that our bilateral talks will strengthen our relations.”

“Had a wonderful meeting with President Putin. We got the opportunity to discuss furthering India-Russia cooperation in sectors such as trade, energy, defence and more. We also discussed other bilateral and global issues,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Modi meeting with Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi

This was the first meeting between PM Modi and Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi as they discussed the bilateral relations between the countries and development of Chabahar Port and regional developments including ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.

Meeting between PM Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

PM Modi also held bilateral talks with the Turkish President as the leaders discussed deepening economic alliance between the countries.

The SCO group at present comprises of eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States that seek full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey).