India is set to host the virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit next Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to attend the summit, which will be chaired by Indian PM Narendra Modi.
The theme of the meeting is “Secure,” an acronym that stands for ‘Security, Economy and Trade, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity, and Environment.’
India is chairing the group’s meeting for the first time since becoming a full member in 2017. It has, however, already hosted several key meetings of the grouping, including the defence and foreign ministers meeting earlier this year.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to attend the SCO virtual summit hosted by India next week. Pakistan announcement: https://t.co/RxerkFpp3Z pic.twitter.com/HLCNwCkP0o
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) June 30, 2023
The SCO, which Russia and China largely dominate, is seen as a crucial regional grouping that aims to promote economic, political, and military cooperation among member countries.
Other member countries invited by India include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, the leaders of Iran and Mongolia have also been invited to attend as observers. As per SCO tradition, Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the Chair.
During this year’s summit, Iran will become a full member of the SCO. Meanwhile, Belarus will complete the two-year entry procedure by the next summit.
Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, and the UAE have also signed memorandums to gain the status of dialogue partners. Whereas, Bahrain is at the final stage of obtaining the status.