All the meetings will be virtual, including the SCO heads of governments meet to be hosted by India in November

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan are likely to come face to face for the first time amid the ongoing row at the border, on November 10 when they will virtually attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet.

This will be the first of five important international summits India will attend this month, including one that it will be hosting.

The SCO Heads of State summit, hosted by Russia, is likely to focus on issues ranging from security to politics. Often dubbed as the NATO of the east, the SCO is an important platform for India to raise concerns about terrorism, security issues at border, sovereignty and integrity.

It comes amid tensions with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Pakistan’s continuing ceasefire violations along the Line of Actual Control (LOC).

With the SCO meet next week, will begin a series of Summits this month. According to various media reports, India will be participating in five Summits this month including one which it will be hosting, exemplifying India’s improved focus towards the international community.

India will be participating in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India summit between November 13 to November 15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the summit virtually.

The 37th ASEAN summit this year will be hosted by Vietnam. The meeting will also be held virtually due to COVID-19.

The second time in a month that Indian and Chinese leaders will be coming face to face will be at the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) Summit being hosted by Russia on November 17. PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be participating in the event.

The 17th BRICS Summit was earlier scheduled to be held in July but was postponed due to COVID-19. The meeting will be held in November virtually. The theme of this year’s meet is likely to be ‘BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth.’

PM Modi and Xi Jinping are likely to meet again during the G-20 Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. The G-20 Summit this year will be held on November 21 and November 22 and will be attended by the possible winner of the 3 November US presidential polls.

On November 30, India will be hosting the SCO heads of governments meet in which External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is likely to participate. Apart from that, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also expected to participate in the meeting.

All these summits will be organised virtually due to COVID-19.