New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday met with counterparts from countries that are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). He held bilateral meetings with the defence ministers of Kazakhstan, Iran, Tajikistan and China. The ministers discussed bilateral defense-related issues and other matters of mutual interest during the meeting.
Following Kazakhstan’s Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov, Iran’s Defence Minister, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiyani, Tajikistan’s Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, the first bilateral meeting took place.
This is the first trip by the Chinese Defense Minister following the Galwan border transgression.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday conveyed to his Chinese partner Li Shangfu that development of India-China ties is premised on prevalence of peace at the boundary and all issues should be settled as per existing bilateral agreements.
Singh expressed this at a bilateral meeting with Li in the midst of the three-year border row along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that has fundamentally strained ties between the two sides.
The talks took place just a few hours after Li arrived in New Delhi to attend a meeting on Friday of defense ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which India was hosting.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the two ministers discussed bilateral relations as well as developments in the border areas between India and China.
“The Raksha Mantri categorically conveyed that development of relations between India and China is premised on prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders,” it said, as quoted by PTI.
“He added that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments,” the ministry said.
It stated that Singh reiterated that the entire foundation of bilateral relations has been “eroded” by violations of existing agreements, and that disengagement at the border will logically be followed by de-escalation.
Rajnath will likely meet Sergei Shoigu, his Russian counterpart, on Friday, along with the Defense Ministers of Belarus and Uzbekistan.
The theme of India’s Chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is ‘Secure-SCO’. In fostering multilateral, political, security, economic, and people-to-people interactions in the region, India places a special emphasis on the SCO.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental association laid out in 2001. The SCO members incorporate Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan other than India. The SCO Defence Ministers Meeting will also include two observer nations, Belarus and Iran, in addition to the member states.
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