India is expected to raise the importance of a rules-based world order and the need for concerted action against terror when Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins the heads of state of China and Pakistan at the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday.
This will be the first time that Modi and President Xi Jinping will be on the same virtual platform since the India-China border standoff began in May. The two sides are currently discussing proposals for disengagement at friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector and senior military commanders of the two sides are expected to meet again this week.
This is the first time the annual meeting of the SCO heads of state is being held virtually because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Russia, the current chair of SCO, has organised most of the grouping’s meetings virtually this year, except for meetings of foreign ministers and defence ministers that were held in Moscow in September.
The economic impact of the pandemic, efforts to strengthen the rules-based world order, counter-terrorism and the troubled peace process in Afghanistan are expected to figure in the discussions between the SCO leaders.
The SCO Summit is one of five virtual meetings this month that will be joined by the top leadership of India and China. As with all recent virtual multilateral summits and meetings, there will be no bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
President Vladimir Putin will chair Tuesday’s meeting and the heads of state of the eight SCO members – Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – will speak for 10 minutes each. The heads of state of four observer countries – Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia – will join the meet, and the SCO secretary general and executive director of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) will also address the gathering.
The SCO Summit is the grouping’s main body that sets the agenda for the coming year. The meeting is also expected to focus on all the main areas of activity, including politics, security, trade and economy, and will conclude with the adoption of the Moscow Declaration containing the joint position of the members on global and regional issues.
There will also be statements on issues such as digital economy, Covid-19, countering terrorism, including on the Internet, and countering drug trafficking. The summit is also expected to make decisions on major projects and trade and economic initiatives.
Modi, who has led the Indian delegation to the annual summit since India became a full member of SCO in 2017, had outlined his vision with the acronym HEALTH – covering healthcare cooperation, economic cooperation, alternative energy, literature and culture, terrorism-free society and humanitarian cooperation – at last year’s summit in Bishkek.
