PM Narendra Modi arrives in Bishkek for the SCO summit
BISHKEK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated India’s stand that Pakistan should take concrete action against terror before talks can resume.
New Delhi’s views on talks and terror not going hand in hand has gained strength after terror attack in Pulwama and the foreign ministry said PM Modi referred to the matter during his bilateral meet today with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit today.
“Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free of terror, but at this stage we do not see it happening. We expect Islamabad to take concrete action” to resume talks, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale quoted the Prime Minister as telling President Xi.
China is a strategic ally of Pakistan and is investing considerably in its infrastructure projects. President Xi is expected to meet Pakistan President Imran Khan, who is also attending the SCO summit.
But no bilateral meeting was scheduled between PM Modi and Imran Khan during the summit, where the two are expected to meet for the first time since the cricketer-turned politician took over as the President of Pakistan.
Ahead of the summit, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had written separate letters to their Indian counterparts, pushing for resumption of bilateral talks. After assuming office too, Imran Khan had written to PM Modi, seeking dialogue on all issues, including Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived here in the Kyrgyz capital for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the first multilateral engagement post his re-election.
Modi, in a statement before his two-day visit to Bishkek from June 13-14, said that on the sidelines of the SCO Summit, he also plans to meet several leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We attach special importance to SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interaction in the region. India has actively participated in various SCO dialogue mechanisms since its full membership of SCO two years ago,” he said on Wednesday.
“The summit is expected to discuss the global security situation, multilateral economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and topical issues of international and regional importance. On the sidelines of the summit, I also plan to meet several leaders bilaterally,” he said.
“The SCO Summit will be followed by the bilateral component of the visit to Kyrgyz Republic on 14 June. PM will have delegation-level talks with President Jeenbekov and jointly inaugurate the India-Kyrgyz Business Forum with Kyrgyz President,” Kumar said in another tweet.
The MEA last week said that no bilateral meetings had been planned between Prime Minister Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. “On the invitation of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, I will also be on an official bilateral visit to the Kyrgyz Republic on 14 June 2019, after conclusion of the SCO Summit,” Modi said.
India and the Kyrgyz Republic, bound by historical and civilisational links, share traditionally warm and friendly relations. “In recent times, our relations have expanded in several areas of bilateral engagement, including defence, security, trade and investment,” he said.
(With Agency Inputs ).
