PM Modi is visiting Samarkand at the invitation of Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day (September 15-16) visit to Samarkand in Uzbekistan to attend the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.

The SCO Summit will be attended by leaders of SCO Member States, Observer States, Secretary General of the SCO, Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), President of Turkmenistan and other invited guests.

During the Summit, the leaders are expected to review the organization’s activities over the past two decades and discuss the state and prospects of multilateral cooperation in the future. Topical issues of regional and global importance are also expected to be discussed at the summit.

As per the MEA, PM Modi is also expected to hold a few bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

This will be the first in-person summit after the Bishkek summit in June 2019.

Besides PM Modi, other head of states including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are expected to attend the summit.

The summit is significant for India because the country will assume the rotational presidency of the SCO at the end of the Samarkand summit. India will be holding the Presidency for one year till September 2023.