SCO summit in India to be held in virtual mode, says MEA

Sandeep Dikshit

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New Delhi, May 30

India on Tuesday announced that the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be held here on July 4 will be held in virtual mode.

The Government did not give any explanation for the move but it will avoid the unpleasant atmospherics witnessed on the margins of the Goa SCO Foreign Ministers’ meet earlier this month after Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raked up bilateral issues which was responded in equal measure by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Also, at a time when India is engaging intensively with the west in the hope of wresting cutting edge technology, the arrival of their bete noire and Russian President Vladimir Putin would have complicated matters. PM Narendra Modi, who will chair the SCO summit, is scheduled to visit the US next month for a State visit.

Also, the border stalemate with China has shown no signs of abating and in this situation, the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping would have made for awkwardness.

“India remains committed to play a positive and constructive role in the organisation, and looks forward to a successful SCO Summit as the culmination of its Chairmanship,” said the MEA while announcing that the summit will be held in virtual mode.

India had assumed the rotating Chairmanship of SCO at the Samarkand Summit on September 16 last year. This would have been the first summit to be held under India’s Chairmanship of SCO.

All the SCO Member States – China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan—have been invited to attend the Summit. In addition, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia have been invited as Observer States. As per SCO tradition, Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the Chair. Heads of the two SCO Bodies – the Secretariat and the SCO RATS – will also be present. Further, Heads of six international and regional organizations have also been invited, viz. UN, ASEAN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU and CICA.

The theme of the Summit is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’. The SECURE acronym was coined by PM Modi at the 2018 SCO Summit. It stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment.

The MEA said India has set up new pillars of cooperation under its Chairmanship – Startups and Innovation; Traditional Medicine; Digital Inclusion; Youth Empowerment; and Shared Buddhist Heritage.

It said India’s Chairmanship of SCO has been a period of intense activity and mutually beneficial cooperation between members. India hosted 34 meetings and events, including 14 Ministerial-level meetings.