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The picture is from 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Lahore, Pakistan on a surprise visit.
Pakistan has invited PM Modi to Islamabad for the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Pakistan will host the SCO meeting between 15-16 October. Apart from India, the heads of government of other member countries of the organization have also been invited.
According to media reports, there is little hope that PM Modi will go to Islamabad for this meeting. However, he can send a minister as a representative to attend the meeting. Last year, Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, hosted the SCO CHG meeting. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended it from India’s side.
Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto visited India for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa in 2023.
PM Modi did not attend the SCO summit in July
PM Modi did not attend the SCO Summit held in Kazakhstan on 3-4 July this year. In his place, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar represented India. Actually, during the SCO Summit, the first session of the Parliament was held after the formation of the new government in India, due to which PM Modi could not go to Kazakhstan.
Earlier last year, the then Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto had attended the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa. Prime Minister Modi last visited Lahore in 2015 on a surprise visit. Then he met Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.
After this, in December 2015, India’s then Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj also visited Pakistan. Since her visit, no Prime Minister or minister of India has visited Pakistan. Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Since then, there has been no high-level meeting between the two countries.
Restraining China-Pakistan, keeping an eye on Central Asia, why is SCO important for India?
SCO is an organization formed to maintain peace and cooperation among all countries in Central Asia. Pakistan, China and Russia are also its members. SCO provides a strong platform to India to strongly put forward its views on issues related to fighting terrorism and security.
According to experts, India has three major policies regarding SCO:
- Strengthening ties with Russia
- Restraining and responding to the dominance of neighboring countries China and Pakistan
- Enhancing cooperation with Central Asian countries
- One of India’s key objectives in joining the SCO is to strengthen economic ties with its four members of the Central Asian Republics (CARs) – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- Due to lack of connectivity with these countries and China’s dominance in this area, India has been facing difficulties in doing so.
- After joining the SCO in 2017, India’s trade with these Central Asian countries has increased. In 2017-18, India’s trade with these four countries was Rs 11 thousand crore, which increased to more than Rs 21 thousand crore in 2019-20.
- During this period, Indian government and private companies also invested in gold mining, uranium, power and agro-processing units in these countries.
- Central Asia has about 45% of the world’s crude oil and gas reserves, which are not yet used. That is why these countries are important for meeting India’s energy needs in the coming years.
- India will be looking to further strengthen its relations with these Central Asian countries during the latest SCO summit.
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