External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held discussions with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev in Beijing, focusing on the SCO’s significance and efforts to modernize its operations. Jaishankar, in a social media post, highlighted the importance of the SCO and its ongoing modernization endeavors. This meeting was part of Jaishankar’s visit to China, following his trip to Singapore, marking his first trip to Beijing in five years. He is scheduled to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (CFM) in Tianjin, along with bilateral meetings. The SCO’s 25th Heads of State Council meeting will take place in Tianjin later this year. India held the SCO Presidency in 2023, and Pakistan hosted the SCO Leaders’ Summit in 2024. The SCO is comprised of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus. The visit follows the recent travel of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to China for SCO meetings in June. During that meeting, India did not sign a joint statement due to the absence of any reference to the terror attack in Pahalgam.
