PM Modi arrives today in Qingdao for SCO summit

Qingdao: Top leaders of India, Russia, and China and some of their close allies will converge here on Saturday for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit which will explore concrete ways to bolster cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism and radicalisation besides deliberating on pressing global issues.

In his address at the two-day SCO summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is arriving here on Saturday, is likely to articulate India's position on dealing with significant challenges facing the world including ways to tackle terrorism, and boosting trade and investment in the region.

The summit in this eastern Chinese port city is taking place under the shadow of Washington's pullout from the Iran nuclear deal, its sanctions regime against Russia, and frictions with China over the trade tariffs.

Diplomats from several member countries said all these issues might figure at the summit as well as during deliberations on its sidelines.

In the wake of Washington's strained ties with both Russia and China and Iran, officials said the SCO summit would provide an opportunity for President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to portray a shared vision for the region and present the bloc as a powerful voice to deal with pressing global issues.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is also scheduled to attend the summit which will give leaders of India, Russia, China and other central Asian countries a chance to deliberate on the Iran nuclear deal.

The SCO leaders are meeting ahead of a much-awaited summit next week between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.