SCO meeting Update: S Jaishankar holds meeting with Chinese, Russian officials in Goa today

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with the Secretary General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Zhang Ming in Goa and appreciated his “support for India’s SCO Presidency.”

This comes as the two-day-long meeting of Foreign Ministers of SCO member states began in Goa on Thursday. Describing his interaction with Zhang Ming as “productive” now, the EAM said that Indian Presidency is driven by a “commitment to Secure SCO”.
“Started my meetings at SCO CFM with a productive interaction with Secretary General Zhang Ming. Appreciate his support for India’s SCO Presidency. Indian presidency is driven by a commitment to SECURE SCO,” Jaishankar tweeted.

The key focus areas of the SCO summit are startups, traditional medicine, youth empowerment, Buddhist heritage and science and technology, Jaishankar said.
“Looking forward to a successful CFM in Goa,” he tweeted.
The theme of India’s Chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is ‘Secure-SCO’. India attaches special importance to SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar is slated to have three more bilaterals with his counterparts from Russia, China and Uzbekistan later today.

S Jaishankar to hold meeting with Chinese, Russian officials in Goa today

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will meet today with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister in Goa.

It is worth noting that both Chinese and Russian ministers are in India for the second time this year. They were in New Delhi for the G20 Foreign Ministers summit in March. The SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will be held on 4 and 5 May in Goa.

Earlier, China said their Foreign Minister would visit India to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “At the meeting, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang will exchange views with other SCO member states’ foreign ministers on the international and regional situation and SCO cooperation in various fields, among other topics, to make full preparation for this year’s SCO summit.”

India and China’s relations deteriorated after the Galwan Valley clash. India and China have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks for disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh following the actions of the Chinese Army which led to a standoff in May 2020.

There is no confirmation of a bilateral between India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar and Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto.