Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in China’s Quindao to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, was seen greeting Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain today. The two leaders shook hands and exchanged greetings after signing of agreements between the member states of the eight nation bloc.
The two leaders shook hands and exchanged pleasantries at the end of the media briefing, which was addressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. China is the host and chair of the SCO.
Leaders of eight member states and four observer states, as well as heads of international organisations are attending the summit, meant to explore ways to increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism and radicalization – among other issues of global relevance.
Modi and Hussain were among the leaders who attended the media briefing after culmination of the 18th SCO summit where India and Pakistan participated as full-fledged members
The relations between India and Pakistan had strained after an attack on an army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based terror organisations in 2016. The ties took a severe hit post-sentencing of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in April last year. India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of failing to take action against terrorists harboured on its soil. The issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has been raised in various international forums to build pressure on Islamabad to dismantle the terror infrastructure.
At the SCO summit, India is also likely to focus on the importance of regional connectivity projects to boost trade among members countries. India has been strongly pushing for connectivity projects like the Chabahar port project in Iran and the over-7,200 km long International North-South Transport Corridor to gain access to resource-rich Central Asian countries.
Modi held nearly half a dozen bilateral meetings with leaders of other SCO countries. However, there was no bilateral meeting between Modi and Hussain.
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