Tashkent, 29 July 2022 (TDI): The Minister of External Affairs of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended the SCO’s Council of Foreign Ministers.
SCO Council of Foreign Ministers
The meeting between Foreign Ministers of SCO’s member states started on Thursday. It is being held in Tashkent, a city in Uzbekistan, and will continue till Friday. Foreign Ministers from Pakistan, China, Russia, India, and Kyrgyzstan are attending the meeting.
The main focus of the meeting is to discuss GDP issues and discuss on solutions for the rising inflation in many of the member states. Participating delegates also exchanged opinions on issues of regional and international dynamics.
Additionally, the meeting has also given the Foreign Ministers of member states to meet and discuss their bilateral relations.
Also Read: SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Uzbekistan
India’s Foreign Minister at the Council
The Ministry of External Affairs announced on 27 July that India will also take part in the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers to be held in Uzbekistan.
The Ministry also informed that the SCO Ministers will review the ongoing cooperation of member states. It also said they will discuss the expansion of the SCO and discuss issues of regional and international importance.
Foreign Minister’s sideline meetings
The Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO member states has given an advantage to member states. The advantage is that many Foreign Ministers have gotten the chance to meet their counterparts not only during the official meeting but also in sideline meetings.
On the sidelines of this official meeting, Foreign Ministers discussed increasing cooperation and strengthening bilateral ties with each other.
The same went for Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who began his visit to Tashkent with a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Tileuberdi.
In the meeting, the two Ministers recognized that relations between India and Kazakhstan have seen a positive increase. They also recalled the last meeting between the two Ministers held in New Delhi in December 2021.
Began my SCO visit with a bilateral meeting with DPM and FM Mukhtar Tileuberdi of Kazakhstan.
We recognized the progress made since our last meeting in New Delhi in December 2021. The current situation calls for stronger Indo-Kazakh cooperation across all domains. pic.twitter.com/nzqpZtgjpc
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 28, 2022
Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan and India also discussed possible opportunities for cooperation in different domains. According to Jaishankar, it was time that India and Kazakhstan increase cooperation with each other to foster bilateral ties.
Also Read: Foreign Ministers of China and Uzbekistan meet
Foreign Minister at SCO Council
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was received by the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO member states. The President welcomed all the heads at the meeting before the official start of the meeting.
Before heading in for the meeting, the External Affairs Minister of India and Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov also exchanged pleasantries. Manish Prabhat, Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan, also joined Jaishankar in the meeting.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in his address at the Council of Foreign Ministers said that India fully supports Iran’s entry into the SCO.
He also highlighted the benefits of giving membership to Iran. He said that Iran’s membership in SCO will help other member states of SCO. It will help them influence the world markets with the help of the facilities of Chabahar port in Iran.
Likewise, he said that India also aims at strengthening its relations with other member states of SCO. He also added that collective efforts can help a lot in strengthening cooperation between member states.
