SCO foreign ministers meet: S Jaishankar’s bilateral talks in focus
External affairs minister S Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his Chinese and Russian counterparts on Thursday. There has, however, been no official word from India and Pakistan on a possible bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of the two sides
When foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) gather in Goa this week, the focus will be on the bilateral meetings held by external affairs minister S Jaishankar on the margins of the gathering.
The foreign ministers of the eight SCO member states are set to arrive in Goa on Thursday for a meeting on May 5 that will prepare the grounds for the summit of heads of State and government to be hosted by India in July.
Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have all confirmed their participation in the meeting of the SCO council of foreign ministers. Bhutto Zardari’s participation has set up the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to India since 2011.
People familiar with the matter said Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his Chinese and Russian counterparts on Thursday. There has, however, been no official word from India and Pakistan on a possible bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of the two sides.
The Pakistani side has also dismissed reports that Islamabad has sought such a meeting. Bhutto Zardari has said he is visiting India for a multilateral engagement.
Jaishankar will host a cultural event and a dinner on Thursday evening for his counterparts from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This event could also bring the Indian foreign minister face to face with his Pakistani counterpart, the people said.
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Jaishankar last met Qin and Lavrov when they visited India in March for a meeting of foreign ministers of G20 states.
As at the last meeting with Qin, the Indian side is expected to push for the resolution of the military standoff in Ladakh sector on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and disengagement of troops at remaining friction points in order to facilitate the normalisation of bilateral ties, the people said.
The meeting between Jaishankar and Lavrov will be an opportunity for the two sides to assess steps taken by India and Russia to bolster trade, including the problem of payments in the face of extensive Western sanctions. With Russia emerging as one of the top suppliers of crude for India, the balance of trade is skewed in favour of Moscow. Both sides are exploring new ways to operationalise a rupee-ruble payment system and to ramp up exports from the Indian side.
However, diplomatic circles are focused on the visit of the Pakistani foreign minister, given that relations between New Delhi and Islamabad are at an all-time low following the 2019 Pulwama suicide attack, which killed 40 Indian troopers and brought the two sides close to hostilities.
Russia’s foreign ministry has said the meeting of the SCO council of foreign ministers will focus on finalising “substantive content” for the upcoming summit scheduled for July 3-4 in New Delhi. The meeting will also discuss drafts of relevant documents and decisions.
The Chinese foreign ministry has said Qin will use the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting to exchange views with his counterparts on the regional and international situation and cooperation in different fields to prepare for the SCO Summit.
The situation in Afghanistan and the economic fallout of the Ukraine war, especially on developing countries, is also expected to figure in the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting. Russia has used recent SCO meetings, such as a recent gathering of defence ministers in New Delhi, to criticise blocs such as Quad and AUKUS and to defend China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait.