The meet is expected to focus on boosting cooperation in fighting terrorism, besides deliberating on pressing regional and global issues
The two-day conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is likely to witness another India-Pakistan clash after the two countries exchanged barbs at the United Nations General Assembly last month.
While External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Thursday for the meet, Pakistan is represented by its Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon is hosting a banquet in the honour of visiting ministers, where both foreign ministers are also invited.
The meet is expected to focus on boosting cooperation in fighting terrorism, besides deliberating on pressing regional and global issues. It comes in the backdrop of India and Pakistan joining multinational military exercises for the first time under the auspices of the SCO in Russia in August.
Immediately after landing, Sushma met her Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin. "Both (leaders) discussed stepping up our close relationship in development assistance, Science and Technology, IT, agriculture, defence and security, health and tourism," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
Kumar said that over the next two days, Swaraj will participate in SCO-related meetings, hold bilateral talks and interact with the Indian community in Tajikistan. The meeting is also likely to review the situation in Syria, Afghanistan and the Korean peninsula. It will be the second CHG meeting since India became a full member of SCO in June 2017. Along with India, Pakistan was also granted membership of SCO last year. The bloc currently has eight member countries which represent around 42 per cent of the world's population and 20 per cent of the global GDP. It is touted as a Eurasian version of American led strategic alliance NATO.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led the official delegation to the SCO Summit of Heads of State in Qingdao, China on 9-10 June. India has participated in nearly 12 ministerial meetings of the SCO ever since it became a full-fledged member of the consortium last year.
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