Jaishankar to lead Indian delegation to attend SCO summit in Astana

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit this year.

Highlights:

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to lead the Indian delegation to Kazakhstan capital Astana
• The summit will take place from July 3-4 in Astana. Kazakhstan took over the SCO presidency from India, which was the president last year.
  • India hosted the SCO summit virtually in July 2023.
• Last year, during the virtual Summit, Jaishankar had expressed concerns over terrorism in the presence of then-Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto.
• During his last 10 years as the Prime Minister, Modi has attended five subsequent SCO summits that were held before the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is considered an influential economic and security bloc.
• The summit hosted by Kazakhstan is expected to see participation by Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif.

Prelims Takeaway

• SCO