 "This will be the first time that PM Narendra Modi will be face-to-face with Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif since Operation Sindoor.")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, along with more than 20 other world leaders. China’s President Xi Jinping is hosting the second day of the summit, along with the SCO Plus meeting, today (September 1) in the northern port city of Tianjin.
Touted as the largest summit since the grouping was founded in 2001, Day 2 of the SCO meeting will bring PM Modi face-to-face with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif. A bilateral meeting between the Indian leader and Russia’s Putin is also slated.
Let’s take a look at why Day 2 of the SCO Summit is crucial.
PM Modi, Pakistan PM to be in same room
PM Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shahbaz Sharif will be at the same place for the first time since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor . The two leaders are attending the SCO Leaders’ Meeting today, hosted by China.
After the April 22 attack that killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists, in Kashmir, India had launched strikes on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in May. This triggered a brief conflict between the two bitter rivals, which ended in a ceasefire four days later.
Sharif had denounced India’s attack on Pakistan as “cowardly” and vowed “revenge”. The strikes on terror camps came as India believes there is Pakistan’s hand in the Pahalgam terror attack, a charge that Islamabad denies. Tensions remain high between the two neighbours, with Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir recently threatening India with nuclear attack from American soil.
Even as New Delhi moves ahead to normalise ties with China, Pakistan used weapons, including fighter jets, supplied by Beijing against India during Operation Sindoor.
It is in this backdrop that Modi and Sharif will come face to face.
India and Pakistan became members of the SCO grouping in 2017. The 10-member bloc has since seen fiery exchanges between the two neighbours. The other members of the grouping are Russia, China, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Notably, this is the first time in three years that PM Modi is attending the SCO Summit in person. He last attended the Samarkand Summit in 2022.
In 2023, India hosted the SCO summit, which was held online. PM Modi skipped the gathering of the bloc’s leaders last year in Kazakhstan.
PM Modi will also be in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the SCO Summit this year. This comes as India has put restrictions on Turkey’s businesses and airline companies after it was found that Pakistan used Turkish drones to attack India during Operation Sindoor.
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India seeks mention of cross-border terror in declaration
India will seek a strong condemnation of cross-border terrorism in the joint declaration by the SCO members.
At a press briefing last week, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Tanmaya Lal, said India was working with other members and partners of the security-focused bloc to ensure “strong condemnation” of terrorism in the summit declaration.
“As far as the declaration at this summit is concerned, that is under finalisation — the text. We are working with other members and partners to see that there should be a reiteration of the strong condemnation of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism. But the text is under finalisation.”
The references to countering “cross-border terrorism” were dropped in the Astana declaration in 2024. However, they were included in the Delhi declaration adopted during India’s presidency of the grouping in 2023 as the “cross-border movement of terrorists”.
All eyes will be on any joint declaration by the SCO grouping, which could criticise United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war. As per The Hindu, given the membership of the SCO and the presence of Indonesian and Malaysian leaders, the joint statement could condemn Israel’s war on Gaza in the harshest terms.
PM Modi to meet Putin
The SCO Summit comes just days after the US imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India as a “penalty” for buying Russian oil. The ties have soured between the two countries, with top officials of the Donald Trump administration fuelling the rhetoric against India.
Amid this, PM Modi is meeting Putin for the first time since the US’ 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports kicked in.
The talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on Trump’s trade war and Russia’s war in Ukraine. The bilateral meeting will also pave the way for the Russian President’s visit to Delhi in December for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit. This will be Putin’s first trip to India since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ahead of PM Modi’s meeting with Putin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dialled the Indian leader and asserted that “the end of this (Ukraine) war must begin with an immediate ceasefire”
Modi thanked Zelenskyy for the phone call in a post on X. “We exchanged views on the ongoing conflict, its humanitarian aspect, and efforts to restore peace and stability. India extends full support to all efforts in this direction,” he wrote.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement, “Prime Minister (Modi) thanked President Zelenskyy and reaffirmed India’s steadfast and consistent position for peaceful settlement of the conflict and support for efforts aimed at earliest restoration of peace.”
The bilateral with Putin comes a day after Modi held talks with Xi on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.
After concluding the talks with Putin, PM Modi will embark for Delhi, ending his two-nation tour of Japan and China.
With inputs from agencies