External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Arrives In Kazakhstan For SCO Summit

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Kazakhstan to attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and met with his Kazakh counterpart, Murat Nurtleu, in Astana on Tuesday, ahead of the two-day event. The leaders discussed various topics, including India's growing engagement with Central Asia.

Jaishankar expressed his pleasure at meeting Nurtleu in a tweet, noting that they discussed regional and global issues and the expanding strategic partnership between India and Kazakhstan.

"Delighted to meet DPM and FM Murat Nurtleu of Kazakhstan in Astana today. Thanked him for the hospitality and arrangements for the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit. Discussed our expanding Strategic Partnership and India’s increasing engagement with Central Asia in various formats. Also exchanged views on regional and global issues," Jaishankar tweeted.

Jaishankar will represent India at the SCO Summit on July 3 and 4, where discussions are expected to focus on regional security, connectivity, and trade enhancement.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is a significant economic and security bloc. India's priorities in the SCO align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘SECURE’ SCO: Security, Economic cooperation, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environmental protection, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The summit will review the organisation's activities over the past two decades and discuss prospects for multilateral cooperation. Key issues such as the situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict, and enhancing security cooperation among SCO member countries are expected to be discussed.

Though Prime Minister Modi usually attends the SCO summit, he will not participate this year due to the ongoing Parliament session. In a phone conversation, PM Modi conveyed to Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev India's full support for the summit's success. Kazakhstan is hosting the meeting as the current chair of the SCO.

India, which became a full SCO member in 2017, has shown keen interest in deepening security cooperation within the SCO framework, particularly through the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS). The SCO was founded in 2001 at a summit in Shanghai by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.