Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to Tianjin, China, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit from August 31 to September 1, marking his first visit to the country since 2019.The summit in Tianjin will bring together leaders from SCO member nations to discuss key issues, including regional security, counterterrorism, trade cooperation, and strategic dialogue. There is also speculation of possible informal interactions between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin during the two-day summit. However, so far, no formal bilateral meetings have been confirmed.
Prior to his China visit, PM Modi will be in Japan on August 30 for the annual India-Japan Summit, where he is scheduled to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao earlier this year. At that meeting, Singh notably declined to sign a document which, according to sources, would have weakened India’s stance on terrorism, especially in the context of the deadly Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. As a result of these divergences, the SCO had opted against issuing a joint statement at the time.PM Modi and Xi last met in October 2024 during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.
(Edited by : Shoma bhattacharjee)
