PM Modi to meet Xi Jinping on sidelines of SCO Summit today

Nearly a month after their Wuhan meet in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, China.

During the summit, Modi and Jinping are expected to take stock of the implementation of decisions taken at the informal summit in Wuhan. The prime minister is also scheduled to meet other world leaders on the sidelines of SCO Summit in Qingdao.

"There are many things that the leaders look forward to discussing and they will most probably take forward what was discussed during the informal summit in Wuhan," ANI quoted Gautam Bambawale, Indian Ambassador to China, as saying.

"Terror will certainly be a substantial part of discussions," Bambawale added.

This is the first summit wherein India is participating with complete membership & so will Pakistan, terror will certainly be a substantial part of discussions: Gautam Bambawale, Indian Ambassador to China in #Qingdao on SCO Summit. pic.twitter.com/XwqDGZc5mH

— ANI (@ANI) June 8, 2018

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Talking about the India-China relationship Bambawale said, "There is no doubt that India-China relations have gone through a transformation after Wuhan informal summit, we have left Doklam crisis behind and moved forward to better ties."

Apart from these, the SCO summit is expected to focus on opportunities for cooperation among the member countries and the situation in the region, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing on Thursday.

This is the first time that India and Pakistan will participate in the Summit as the full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). However, there is no official confirmation whether there will be any interaction between Modi and Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain, who is scheduled to attend the meeting in China.

"Neither have we nor has Pakistan asked for a formal meeting but during such summits (SCO Summit). However, leaders may talk on the sidelines but there will be no formal meeting with Pakistan," Bambawale told reporters.

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Among other leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to attend the summit. Earlier in May, Modi met Putin during an informal summit in Sochi.

In 2001, the SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its members in 2017.