Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed on his arrival at Qingdao, China on Saturday. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in China’s Qingdao to attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on Saturday. The summit will be India’s first as a full member since it became part of the eight-member SCO last year. The member nations are likely to take up regional cooperation against terrorism for discussion.
Upon his arrival, Modi had a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and reviewed the progress of the implementation of the decisions that the two leaders had taken during their informal summit in Wuhan last month. Besides Xi, the PM also met SCO General Secretary Rashid Alimov and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Here are the top 10 takeaways from today’s bilateral meetings:
* On the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi and President Jinping held a meeting and discussed key aspects of the bilateral engagement, reflecting the resolve by the two countries to reset relations and bring back trust in their ties which was hit by the Doklam standoff and several other thorny issues.
* An MoU on sharing hydrological information of the Brahmaputra river by China to India and another deal on the amendment of the protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include non-Basmati rice were signed by the two leaders after the talks.
* Taking to Twitter, Modi said the talks with the Chinese leader will “add further vigour to the India-China friendship”. “Met this year’s SCO host, President Xi Jinping this evening. We had detailed discussions on bilateral and global issues. Our talks will add further vigour to the India-China friendship,” he said.
* The prime minister also met SCO General Secretary Rashid Alimov who told him that “India is contributing greatly to the organisation since it became a full member of SCO in 2017”. “This SCO Summit is special as this is India’s first Summit as a full member. My talks with SCO Secretary-General, Mr. Rashid Alimov were extremely productive. India looks forward to enriching the SCO with its active participation and working closely with other members,” he tweeted.
* Following the meeting between the leaders of the two Asian giants, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Indian Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale addressed the media. “President Xi Jinping began by making a positive assessment of the Wuhan summit. He described it as ‘a new starting point’ in our bilateral relations. PM Modi described it as ‘milestone in our relations,” Gokhale said.
* Gokhale added that President Xi accepted PM Modi’s invitation to visit India for an informal summit in 2019.
* In order to enhance financial co-operation between the two countries, PM Modi has agreed to open a branch of Bank of China in Mumbai.
* Besides Xi, Modi also held bilateral talks with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and discussed ways to boost economic and cultural links. Following the meeting, he tweeted, “Wonderful to meet Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan. Ties between our nations have their roots in history. We reviewed the full range of the India-Uzbekistan friendship, especially ways to boost economic and cultural cooperation.”
* The PM later met President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan and exchanged views on areas such as security, technology and energy. He tweeted, “Great meeting with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. We talked about key sectors of bilateral cooperation. India and Tajikistan are working together in areas such as security, technology and energy. Today’s meeting also focused on ways to further enhance connectivity.”
* The prime minister received a warm welcome from the Indian community in Qingdao and also took to the micro-blogging site to share a few pictures.