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International Desk/

The two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is scheduled to begin on Thursday and end on Friday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Thursday to attend the conference.

On the sidelines of the conference, Modi is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday on his first foreign visit since the start of the Corona epidemic. News from NDTV and CNN.

Although the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not said anything specific about the Modi-Putin meeting, Reuters reported the meeting between the two leaders late on Tuesday night, citing Kremlin sources. It has been said that the two leaders will talk about various issues related to trade including food, fertilizers.

Modi is scheduled to return home tomorrow Friday after the two-day conference. It is not yet certain whether Modi will meet with Xi Jinping. However, it is reported that Modi will not have a separate meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftekhar said this.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has only officially stated that the Prime Minister will hold several bilateral meetings at the conference. But with whom, India is still silent. On the spot, India is being quite cautious about bilateral meetings.

It is heard that Modi will also meet with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Iran Ibrahim Raisi. Modi has not had a face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping in the last three years. In June 2020, a bloody clash broke out between the armies of the two countries along the Line of Actual Control in the Galwan area of ​​eastern Ladakh. Since then, the two leaders have attended several international meetings virtually, but they have not had face-to-face talks.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan yesterday before meeting with Putin and Central Asian Security Group leaders. Kazakh President Kassim-Jomart Tokayev welcomed Xi Jinping at the airport wearing a blue suit and face mask. Amid tensions with Washington, Japan and India, the Chinese president’s visit is seen as crucial to establishing himself as a regional leader.