External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with her Kyrgyzstan counterpart, Chingiz Aidarbekov, in Bishkek on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

“Swaraj and Aidarbekov held productive discussions on all aspects of bilateral relations, including political and defence ties, trade and investment and people-to-people ties,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

During her two-day visit to the Kyrgyz capital, Swaraj will also call on President Sooronbay Zheenbekov and hold several bilateral meetings.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is also attending the meeting of foreign ministers but Indian officials have ruled out the possibility of a bilateral meeting. Issues of international and regional importance would be discussed at the SCO meeting. The foreign ministers will also discuss and review preparations for the SCO Summit in Bishkek from June 13 to14. India was admitted as a full member of SCO in 2017.

Swaraj’s visit comes a month after Nirmala Sitharaman’s trip to Bishkek to attend SCO defence ministers’ conclave to boost security cooperation among the members of the grouping. India is keen on deepening security-related cooperation with SCO.

First Published: May 22, 2019 04:26 IST