Ahead of his departure for the Uzbek city of Samarkand to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was looking forward to exchanging views on topical regional and international issues as well as on expansion of the grouping during the deliberations.
Modi will join Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi among others at the annual summit of the regional bloc on Friday.
The PM is visiting Uzbekistan at the invitation of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Uzbekistan is the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
"At the SCO Summit, I look forward to exchanging views on topical, regional and international issues, the expansion of SCO and further deepening of multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation within the Organisation," Modi said in a pre-departure statement.
"Under the Uzbek chairship, a number of decisions for mutual cooperation are likely to be adopted in areas of trade, economy, culture and tourism," he said.
Modi said he was also looking forward to meeting President Mirziyoyev.
"I fondly recall his visit to India in 2018. He also graced the Vibrant Gujarat Summit as Guest of Honour in 2019. In addition, I will hold bilateral meetings with some of the other leaders attending the summit," Modi said.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said Modi will have bilateral meetings with the Uzbek president and some other leaders on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
To a volley of questions on whether there will be a bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kwatra did not give a direct reply.
We will keep you apprised when schedule of Modi's bilateral meetings unfolds, he said.
Asked about Pakistan continuing to back various terror groups, Kwatra said there is a deeply held understanding in SCO about ways to deal with terrorism in region.
The member states of the SCO are Russia, China, India, Pakistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
