Ahead of NSG talks, Modi to meet Xi, Putin at Tashkent today

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will l eave for Tashkent on Thursday to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — a six-nation

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will l eave for Tashkent on Thursday to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — a six-nation grouping of countries that coordinates their position on issues ranging from security to economic ties.

HT Image

On the sidelines of the summit, Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and seek his support for India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). He will also meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two-day annual plenary session of the NSG will be held in Seoul on June 23-24, which will discuss India’s membership to the 48-member club that deals with export of nuclear materials and technology.

“There will be a meeting of the Prime Minister with Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. There will be some other bilateral meetings also. During the meeting, there will be full review of bilateral agenda,” secretary (west) in the external affairs ministry, Sujata Mehta, said.

In the SCO summit, the leaders are expected to explore ways to deepen security cooperation and intelligence sharing. India’s association with the SCO began in 2005 when it attended the grouping’s summit as an observer.

With majority of the SCO countries having huge reserves of oil and gas, India is expected to get greater access to major hydrocarbon projects in Central Asia after its entry into the bloc.

The SCO was founded in 2001 by the leaders of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit.

The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for expansion of the grouping.