<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit of heads of state on September 15 and 16 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the first in-person meeting of the world’s largest regional organisation, is being closely watched by analysts for China and Russia’s response to the emerging world order, and for a clutch of significant bilaterals that will happen on the sidelines, although there is no word yet on one between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian president Vladimir Putin and PM Modi will meet and discuss “trade... sales of Russian fertilizers and ... food supplies”, Reuters reported</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The recent decision by India and China to pull back troops from patrolling point-15 or PP-15 at Hot Springs has fuelled intense speculation about the possibility of the first face-to-face bilateral meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in nearly three years, though both countries have not officially said anything on this issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Modi and Xi are set to be in the same room for at least two sessions at the summit. While the exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders isn’t being ruled out, people familiar with the matter said there was no word yet on a structured bilateral meeting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The external affairs ministry has said the Prime Minister is likely to hold a “few bilateral meetings” on the margins of the summit but didn’t give details. The people cited above said Modi may have bilateral meetings with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Putin and Xi Jinping are also likely to meet on the sidelines of the SCO summit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">India and China have been locked in a military standoff in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since May 2020 and New Delhi has linked the normalisation of the overall relationship to the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas. The external affairs ministry said last week that following the resolution of the standoff at PP-15, both countries should take forward talks and resolve remaining issues on the LAC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former ambassador Vishnu Prakash said: “With the borders still alive, the prime minister is likely to meet Xi only if some agreement on restoring status quo ante is in hand or if the Chinese side seeks it. Else, it may serve little purpose other than giving bragging rights to the Chinese leader.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He added, “At this stage, the meeting can only be about vacation of Chinese aggression.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">India has looked to the SCO, which also includes China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, to drive cooperation in crucial areas such as connectivity and trade, especially with Central Asian states, and counter-terrorism, with the focus on Afghanistan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the summit, the leaders are expected to review SCO’s activities over the past two decades and discuss prospects of multilateral cooperation in future. Issues of regional and global importance, such as the Ukraine conflict and its fallout on the global economy, are expected to come up at the meeting. Iran is set to become a full member of the grouping during the summit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The people cited above said there have been growing efforts by China to use multilateral bodies to present Beijing’s views on the world stage, and the possibility of the Chinese and Russian sides using the SCO Summit to present their response to the changing world order, especially after the Ukraine crisis, could not be ruled out. Source: HT</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>