S. Jaishankar meets China, Russia peers

New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday met with Sergei Lavrov and Qin Gang, his counterparts from Russia and China, on the sidelines of the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The SCO meeting, hosted by India in Goa, is being held on Thursday and Friday.

“A detailed discussion with State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China on our bilateral relationship. The focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas.” The two top diplomats also discussed organizations like G20 and BRICS, Jaishankar tweeted. This year, India holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO. The organization counts eight countries as full members, including Pakistan and Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan. India began as an observer in 2005 and joined as a full member in 2017.

The minister also met with Russia’s Lavrov. “Comprehensive review of our bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Appreciated Russia’s support for India’s SCO presidency. Also discussed issues pertaining to G20 and BRICS,” Jaishankar said.

Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto is also in India for the meeting. The SCO foreign ministers’ meeting will look to set the stage for the leaders’ level meeting in New Delhi in July.

“The most important work before the SCO foreign ministers will be to assess the status of decisions that will be approved at the SCO Summit in New Delhi in July. The meeting will also give an opportunity to discuss the state of multilateral cooperation in SCO, regional and global issues of interest,” Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) at the ministry of external affairs told reporters.