Modi meets Erdogan at SCO Summit, discusses bilateral cooperation
Prime minister Narendra Modi met Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan Friday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan. The two leaders reviewed bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in diverse sectors. “PM Narendra Modi held talks with president RT Erdogan on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand. The two leaders discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors,” Modis’ office tweeted with a photo of him shaking hands with Erdogan.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also took to Twitter and said that the two leaders had ‘useful discussions’. “Leaders reviewed bilateral relations and appreciated recent gains in bilateral trade. Also exchanged views on regional & global developments.”
The face-to-face meeting comes almost two years after a frosty moment following Erdogan’s comments on Kashmir. The Turkish president had referred to the Kashmir issue in his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
India had termed his remarks as ‘completely unacceptable’.
PM Modi reached Uzbekistan on Friday night to attend the SCO summit.
The summit was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The SCO currently comprises eight member states – China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – and four observer states – Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia. There are six ‘dialogue partners’ – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.
