EAM’s visit will include the participation in the Council’s meeting and other bilateral meetings. The CFM meeting in Moscow will review the preparations for the forthcoming SCO Summit and also exchange views on international and regional issues. This will be the third CFM meeting that India will be attending as a full member of SCO.
EAM is also expected to have several bilateral meetings including with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov which will be on 9th September. India and Russia enjoy an important strategic partnership and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of India –Russia Strategic Partnership.
‘We regard Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s visit to Moscow as an important step in maintaining these intense dynamics. The ministers intend to discuss a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues as well as current issues on the regional and international agendas” said a statement from the Russian Foreign ministry’s issued last week.
The two sides will discuss issues within the common multilateral organizations like SCO, BRICS, RIC the East Asia Summit besides developments in Afghanistan, and the situation regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “Our joint work at the UN has special significance, particularly considering the fact that India is to receive the status of non-permanent member of the UN Security Council next year,” said the Russian statement.
The SCO meeting will be chaired by the current Chair of SCO, Russia and the discussion will lay the ground for the upcoming session of the SCO Heads of State Council expected to be held later this year.
The foreign ministers at SCO will discuss key international and regional issues in the context of the 75th UN anniversary. The deliberations will be centered around, “a number of urgent foreign policy issues as well as decisions aimed at further developing SCO activities on overcoming the global political and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said a press statement from the Russian foreign ministry.
EAM Jaishankar’s Moscow visit comes on the heels of Defence minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the Russian capital last week to attend the SCO Defense minister’s meeting. The defense minister also held several bilateral meetings with the member states including Russia and China. During the bilateral discussion with the Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe the two Ministers had in-depth discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as on India-China relations. The Defence Minister had stated clearly that while the Indian troops had always taken a very responsible approach towards border management, but at the same time there should also be no doubt about our determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
India has been taking an active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms. The SCO Summit will be held in the near future.
By: Abhiskek Jha