SCO summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed the need of transforming India into a manufacturing hub and highlited how the world is facing 'disruptions occurred in the global supply chain because of the COVID and Ukraine crisis' during his address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand. President Vladimir Putin was present during PM Modi's mention of Ukraine-Russia war which has been ongoing for the last seven months.
"The world is overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic. Several disruptions occurred in the global supply chain because of the COVID and Ukraine crisis. We want to transform India into a manufacturing hub," PM Modi said.
PM Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders of the SCO deliberated on the regional security situation and ways to enhance trade and connectivity at the annual summit of the grouping. It is for the first time Modi and Xi came face-to-face at the summit in this historic Uzbek city since the start of the border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh around 28 months back.
However, there is no clarity yet on whether there will be a bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the summit. The summit is also being attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and leaders of several central Asian countries.
The summit of the eight-nation influential grouping is taking place amid the growing geo-political turmoil largely triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China's aggressive military posturing in the Taiwan Strait.
