Prime Minister Narendra Modi will “virtually host” Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Central Asian Presidents as India chairs the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) on July 4 for the first time.
Sources say four outcomes will be adopted at the summit, including the “New Delhi Declaration”, and two joint statements on countering radicalism and on digital transformation. In addition, an agreement on economic cooperation initiatives is being negotiated, although it is unclear whether all countries, especially India will sign on to it, given past differences with China over the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The virtual summit, originally planned as in-person summit for the leaders in Delhi, has now been truncated to a single session via videoconferencing that will last just over two hours on Tuesday afternoon, from 12.30 p.m. to 2.45 p.m. Much of the time will be taken up by pre-drafted opening remarks and final statements.
