Beijing:
Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) hosted by India next week, according to an official announcement here on Friday.
At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi will attend the 23rd meeting of the Council of Chiefs of the SCO on July 4 via video conference in Beijing and make important remarks, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said. in a short press. Edition.
This is the first official announcement about Xi’s participation in the SCO summit hosted by India.
The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has grown into one of the largest trans-regional international organizations.
The SCO was founded in 2001 at a summit in Shanghai by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017.
India holds the rotating presidency of the organization this year.
Ahead of the summit to be held for the first time under India’s presidency, India inaugurated a beautifully designed “New Delhi Hall” at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing on Tuesday.
While the six founding members of the SCO, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, have their halls that highlight their cultures and unique features, India is the first to add its own halls.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who virtually inaugurated the hall, said in his speech that the New Delhi Hall is conceived as a “mini-India” showcasing various facets of Indian culture.
“To allow you to visualize the depth of India’s artistic tradition and cultural identity, the hall is designed with beautiful patterns and motifs that represent the rich architectural craftsmanship found throughout India,” he said.
Last year, the in-person SCO summit was held in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, attended by all of the group’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, Chinese President Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
In September, India will host the G20 summit to which it will invite Xi and Putin, alongside other leaders of the bloc.
The theme of the summit is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’.
Coined by Prime Minister Modi at the 2018 SCO summit, the acronym SECURE stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unit; Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity; and Environment.
These themes emerged during the Indian Presidency of the SCO.
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