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SCO virtual summit tomorrow; Modi, Xi to share platform for the first time since Galwan

WION
New Delhi, IndiaWritten By: Sidhant SibalUpdated: Nov 09, 2020, 06:50 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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The Galwan incident saw the death of 20 Indian soldiers due to Chinese aggressiveness at the line of actual control in eastern Ladakh

Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO virtual summit will take place tomorrow starting at 2.30 pm IST and is expected to last two and a half hours.

The summit, being hosted by Russia as the chair of the grouping for this year will see the participation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Putin, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, and leaders of 4 central Asian countries. 4 central Asian members of the SCO are: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Minister of external affairs spokesperson Anurag Shrivastava said, "PM will lead the Indian delegation to the 20th summit of SCO Council of heads of state which will be held in the virtual format on 10th of November. The meeting will be chaired by President Putin of the Russian Federation".

This is the 3rd meeting in which India will be participating as full members. New Delhi was granted the observer status of SCO in 2005 and in June 2017 it became a full member.

Both Pakistan and China have confirmed participation. This will be the first time PM Modi and Chinese President Xi will be sharing a platform virtually after the Galwan incident. 

The Galwan incident saw the death of 20 Indian soldiers due to Chinese aggressiveness at the line of actual control in eastern Ladakh. China also suffered casualties but never came out with figures. Ties between the two countries deteriorating as Chinese troops massed at the LAC.

All in All, PM Modi and President Xi will be together 3 times this month, first at SCO heads of state virtual summit, BRICS virtual summit on 17th November and then the G20 virtual summit on 21st and 22nd November.

Interestingly, Indian and Pakistani PMs will also be on the same virtual platform. Last time they PM Modi and Imran khan were under the same roof were at the UNGA dinner and lunch last year in New York. Given the tensions in ties post-Pulwama terror attack, no meeting took place.