Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Qingdao in China on Saturday. (Photo: Facebook/@narendramodi)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invite to India for an informal summit next year, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Saturday. While addressing the media on the meeting between the leaders of the two Asian giants, Gokhale said India has agreed to open Bank of China’s first branch in Mumbai.
PM Modi met and held bilateral talks with President Jinping, minutes after he landed in China’s Qingdao to attend the two-day 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit earlier in the day. The two leaders discussed and took stock of the progress in the implementation of decisions they had taken during the informal summit in Wuhan last month. They also signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) related to sharing of hydrological information on Brahmaputra and export of non-Basmati rice to China.
Modi also met Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and discussed a range of topics to further strengthen the bilateral ties.
Read | Narendra Modi in China: PM signs two MoUs with Xi, says meeting will add vigour to bilateral ties
Modi is accompanied by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. The duo were welcomed by Indian officials after they landed at Qingdao airport. The SCO Summit will be India’s first as a full member since it became the part of the eight-member SCO nations — India, Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan — last year. The member nations are likely to take up regional cooperation against terrorism for discussion. India has been raising the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in various multilateral forums with an aim to build pressure on Islamabad to dismantle the terror infrastructure operating from that country.
Narendra Modi in China LIVE updates: Both India and Pakistan were admitted to the grouping at its summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, last June. (File photo)
Xi conveyed to the Indian side that China's defence minister and Minister of Public security, who is equivalent to India's Home Minister, will visit New Delhi this year, PTI reported.
Gokhale also said that India and China have agreed to jointly move forward in identifying a specific project in the area of capacity building in Afghanistan, a move that could upset Pakistan. During the informal summit in Wuhan in April, the two leaders had agreed to undertake a joint India-China economic project in Afghanistan.
After meeting Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Modi said, "Great meeting with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. We talked about key sectors of bilateral cooperation. India and Tajikistan are working together in areas such as security, technology and energy. Today’s meeting also focused on ways to further enhance connectivity."
Gokhale told reporters that no talks on the Iranian deal was held by the PM. On the OBOR initiative, he said India supports all initiatives it is important for one to keep in mind each country's integrity.
Gokhale added, "New people to people mechanism will be set up. On the Indian side, it will be headed by the External Affairs of Ministry and on the Chinese side, it'll be headed by the state council and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The first meeting of this mechanism will be held this year."
"It was a substantive meeting, President Xi Jinping began by making a positive assessment of the Wuhan summit. He described it as 'a new starting point' in our bilateral relations. PM Modi described it as 'milestone in our relations," Gokhale said.
PM Modi has agreed to allow Bank of China to open a branch in Mumbai.
President Xi has accepted PM Modi's invite to visit India for an informal meet in 2019.
While addressing the media, Vijay Gokhale said the PM was satisfied with the meeting he had with the Chinese President.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Indian Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale will shortly hold a press meet on the India-China bilateral meeting that took place on the sidelines of the SCO in Qingdao today.
PM Modi is expected to hold nearly half a dozen bilateral meetings with leaders of other SCO countries. The SCO leaders are also expected to review the situation in the Korean peninsula, Afghanistan and Syria.
On his meeting with President Jinping, PM Modi said the discussion between the two leaders over a range of issues will only add further vigour to the India-China friendship after their informal summit in Wuhan.
During their bilateral meeting, two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were signed between Modi and Jinping - a) sharing of hydrological information of Brahmaputra river by China to India and b) allowing India to export non-Basmati rice to China. Beijing had denied access to the non-basmati rice on grounds that it failed to meet its standards.
On meeting the SCO general secretary, PM Modi tweeted, "This SCO Summit is special as this is India’s first Summit as a full member. My talks with SCO Secretary-General, Mr. Rashid Alimov were extremely productive. India looks forward to enriching the SCO with its active participation and working closely with other members."
PM Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the summit.
Before their meeting, Modi and Jinping exchanged a warm handshake and posed for photographs. In his opening remarks, Modi said that strong and stable relations between India and China can inspire a stable and peaceful world. He also recalled his informal summit with Xi in Wuhan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in delegation-level talks with other SCO members on the sidelines of the summit. (ANI)
Besides holding talks, the member-nations are expected to sign the Qingdao Declaration to summarize the development experience of the SCO and promote the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and pursuit of common development, Xinhuanet reported. The declaration will ratify a five-year outline for the implementation of the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, and approve more than 10 cooperation deals covering areas including security, economy, and people-to-people exchanges.
Weeks after the two leaders held an informal meeting in Wuhan, PM Modi and Chinese President Jinping held a bilateral meeting and took stock of the progress in the implementation of decisions they had taken at their previous meet. The two leaders are expected to explore ways to deepen ties in areas of trade and investment besides reviewing the overall bilateral cooperation.
In the wake of the summit, Qingdao's coastline will be lit up and there will also be a firework display. A large-scale light show is expected to take place, using skyscrapers as the backdrop. As far as security arrangements are concerned, nearly 20,000 volunteers have been deployed at service stations around the city's streets, railway stations and at the airport, Xinhuanet reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met SCO General Secretary Rashid Alimov who told him that "India is contributing greatly to the organisation since it became a full member of SCO in 2017".
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed his desire to discuss US' withdrawal from the Iranian deal, with Russian President Putin. While speaking at the start of his today's meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit, Rouhani lauded the relationship between Russia and Iran. Iran has an observer status in the SCO and Putin said that Moscow would support the full-fledged Iranian membership.
Rouhani said that the US exit from the nuclear agreement with Iran warrants an "important and serious discussion between our two countries." Rouhani also hailed Russia-Iran cooperation in Syria, saying "our role in the region is quite significant." Russia and Iran have staunchly backed Syrian President Bashar Assad, helping turn the tide of war in his favour.
The chemical attack in Salisbury has sharply escalated Russian-western tensions, and led to London and Moscow expelling each other’s diplomats.
The India-US-Japan-Australia quadrilateral has been revived against the backdrop of Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
The US has delivered a public rebuke to Pakistan for not cracking down on terrorists, and suspended military assistance it.
Prime Minister Modi has made historic separate visits to Israel and Palestine, completing their de-hyphenation.
After the two-and-a-half-month standoff at Doklam, India and China have attempted to reset relations with an informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan.
The US has imposed sanctions on Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which affects Indian defence purchases from its strongest defence partner.
The United States has pulled out of the nuclear deal (or JCPOA) between the P-5+1 and Iran, while the Europeans, Chinese and Russians have stayed on.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12, the first ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
Since India and Pakistan were admitted to the grouping at its summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, last June, world politics has undergone several tectonic shifts, old assumptions have been challenged, and new variables have entered the mix.
Both countries were “observers” at that summit, but India had for the first time expressed interest in joining the SCO, and had been represented at the level of the Prime Minister. One of the diplomats who had then seen value in joining the Eurasian political, economic, and security organisation was Ajay Bisaria, Joint Secretary (Eurasia) in the Ministry of External Affairs — now India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan.
At the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in June 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari a tough message: “I am happy to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of Pakistan must not be used for terrorism.”
The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its members last year.
Modi is expected to hold nearly half a dozen bilateral meetings with leaders of other SCO countries. However, there is no official word on whether there will be any interaction between Modi and Pakistan President Hussain, who is scheduled to attend the meeting in China.
The officials said India is also likely to focus on the importance of regional connectivity projects to boost trade among members of the SCO countries. India has been strongly pushing for connectivity projects like the Chabahar port project and International North-South Transport Corridor to gain access to resource-rich central Asian countries.
India was an observer at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
The SCO leaders are also expected to review the situation in the Korean peninsula, Afghanistan and Syria.
Officials said the US pull out from the Iran nuclear deal, Washington's sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) may also figure in the talks. The sanctions have impacted Russia's defence cooperation with a number of countries including India.
The situation in the Indo-Pacific may figure in the talks but it is unlikely that the issue will find a mention in the SCO outcome document.
In the wake of Washington's strained ties with Russia, China and Iran, officials said the SCO summit will provide an opportunity for President Xi and his Russian counterpart Putin to reflect on a common vision for the region and present the bloc as a powerful voice to deal with pressing global issues.
In his address at the SCO Modi, is likely to articulate India's position on dealing with major challenges facing the world including ways to tackle terrorism, and boosting trade and investment in the region. The summit in this Chinese port city is taking place under the shadow of Washington's pullout from the Iran nuclear deal, its sanction regime against Russia and frictions with China over the trade tariff dispute and diplomats said all these issues may figure at the summit as well as during deliberations on its sidelines.
Besides PM Modi, other leaders attending the summit in this picturesque coastal city of China's Shandong province include President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.
The SCO currently has eight member countries which represent around 42 per cent of the world's population and 20 per cent of the global GDP.
Diplomats said the summit is also likely to explore ways to deepen cooperation among the SCO member countries in dealing with threats of terrorism, extremism, and radicalisation besides delving into issues relating to trade, investment, and connectivity.
It is PM Modi's second visit to China in little over five weeks. He was in the Chinese city of Wuhan on April 27 and 28 to attend an informal summit with President Xi Jinping.
The SCO Summit is also likely to deliberate on several pressing global issues including future of Iran nuclear deal, the impact of US sanctions on Russia and situation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The “Shanghai Spirit” — the SCO’s driving philosophy — emphasises harmony, working by consensus, respect for other cultures, non-interference in the internal affairs of others, and non-alignment. The SCO’s main objective of working cooperatively against the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism, and extremism sits well with New Delhi’s interests. Indeed, the SCO summit gives India an opportunity to showcase the kind of power it wants to be.
While the West has been sceptical of India’s sitting down with the less-than-free regimes of Central Asia, Russia and China, New Delhi has always been careful to not signal alignment with these countries on issues of governance.
Similar red lines will be in play in India’s dealings with Iran, an observer state that has applied for full SCO membership. India has a powerful strategic interest in Iran’s Chabahar port, and Modi will have the opportunity to interact with the Iranian leader at the SCO. The Trump administration is hostile to Tehran, but New Delhi has been seeking to signal to Washington the alignment of interests in Chabahar, which allows access to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
Russia has been India’s staunchest supporter in the SCO, having lobbied hard with Beijing for years to ensure its entry into the grouping. The conversation with President Vladimir Putin will continue, picking up the threads from the informal summit in Sochi last month. New Delhi has been clear that its relationship with Moscow would not be impacted by the West’s approach towards the Kremlin.
After the frank and fruitful exchanges in Wuhan, the summit will provide the Indian and Chinese leaders another opportunity to meet and talk. Doklam was resolved just before the Xiamen BRICS summit last year; the summit in Qingdao could be another marquee event for China to use to build ties with its neighbours.
During his meetings in Qingdao over the weekend, Modi will have challenges to address and opportunities to harvest. The summit provides an opportunity for the Indian and Pakistani leaders to meet informally on the sidelines of a multilateral event. The two sides are obliged to cooperate on issues of mutual interest without bringing in their bilateral disputes. Signing off on joint counter-terrorism exercises will be a new form of engagement between the two militaries.