Excited to lead delegation for India's first-ever SCO summit as a full member, says PM

Ahead of the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit beginning tomorrow in China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he was excited to lead the Indian delegation for the grouping's first-ever meeting with the country as a full member. Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in in Qingdao, where they will take stock of the implementation of decisions taken at the informal summit just over a month ago in Wuhan.

"I am excited to lead the Indian delegation for our first-ever meeting of the Council as a full member," Modi said in a Facebook post.

"On 9th and 10th June, I will be in Qingdao, China to take part in the annual SCO Summit. This will be India's first SCO Summit as a full member. Will be interacting with leaders of SCO nations and discussing a wide range of subjects with them," the prime minister tweeted.

Discussions in the summit will take place on diverse issues ranging from combating terrorism, separatism and extremism to promoting cooperation in connectivity, commerce, customs, law, health and agriculture, protecting the environment and mitigating disaster risk and fostering people-to-people relations.

"In the last one year since India became a full member of the SCO, our interaction with the organisation and its member states has grown considerably in these areas. I believe that the Qingdao Summit will further enrich the SCO agenda, while heralding a new beginning for India's engagement with the SCO," he said.

Founded in 2001, the SCO currently comprises eight member states, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were admitted to the SCO last year.

"India enjoys deep friendship and multi-dimensional ties with the member states of the SCO. On the sidelines of the SCO Summit, I will have the opportunity of meeting and sharing views with several other leaders, including the Heads of States of many SCO Member States," Modi said.