In Beijing, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev to talk about the organization’s importance and efforts to modernize its operations. Jaishankar shared details of the discussion on social media, underscoring the significance of the SCO. The meeting occurred during Jaishankar’s visit to China, which follows his trip to Singapore. During his visit, Jaishankar will participate in the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (CFM) in Tianjin and conduct bilateral meetings. The SCO’s 25th Heads of State Council meeting is scheduled for later this year in Tianjin. India chaired the SCO Presidency in 2023, with Pakistan hosting the SCO Leaders’ Summit in 2024. The SCO is comprised of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus. This visit follows the June SCO meetings attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. India did not endorse the joint statement from the Defence Ministers’ meeting because of the lack of mention of the terror attack in Pahalgam.
