Minister Jaishankar concludes Uzbekistan trip after SCO meeting

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar concluded his central Asia trip after participating in the ‘Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Foreign Ministers meeting.

Apart from discussing bilateral and global issues, the foreign ministers also laid the groundwork for the Summit of Heads of State scheduled for 15-16 in Samarkand.

What was discussed?

Of the eight member states, Minister Jaishankar held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. He also had a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. However, he did not meet Bilawal Bhutto from Pakistan or Wang Yi from China, or Muttaqi from Afghanistan.

Highlighting India’s humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, Mr. Jaishankar called for zero tolerance for all forms of terrorism.

The Ukraine-Russia war was discussed by the leaders, and the need for resilient global supply chains.

The External Affairs Minister pitched Chabahar port as having a potential to boost SCO’s economic future.

India was an observer at the SCO in 2005, but down the road, it became a permanent member in 2017. The SCO focuses on security and the economy in the region.