SCO Summit: In a surprise move, India will host the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on July 4 but what is special about the meeting is that it will be hosted in a virtual format, informed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday. However, the ministry did not cite reasons for holding the summit in virtual mode. Invitations have been sent to China, Russia and more counterparts for the SCO summit which has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
Last year, all top leaders of the grouping including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attended the in-person SCO summit that took place in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit on September 16 last year.
SCO summit to be held in virtual format
"Under India's first-ever chairmanship, the 22nd summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State will be held in the virtual format on July 4, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the MEA said in a statement. Earlier this month, India hosted the foreign ministers of the SCO at a two-day conclave in Goa.
The MEA further informed that invitations have been sent to all the SCO member states -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Iran, Belarus and Mongolia invited as observer states
"In addition, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia have been invited as observer states. As per SCO tradition, Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the chair," it said.
The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc that was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017.
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