Tianjin, Sep 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Tianjin, China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit on Monday, marking a significant diplomatic engagement with regional powers.

The SCO summit will see participation from key regional leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Modi, President Xi, and President Putin will all share the stage at the multilateral event, underlining the significance of regional cooperation at a time of global uncertainty.

Later today, PM Modi is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom India continues to maintain a close strategic and energy partnership despite global tensions.

The SCO Summit itself will focus on combating the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism, and extremism, a founding priority of the organization. An agreement signing ceremony is scheduled for this afternoon, followed by a leaders’ joint statement.

This is PM Modi’s first visit to China in seven years and comes as India and China cautiously rebuild ties following a prolonged border standoff.

PM Modi is scheduled to return to India later tonight, concluding a high-stakes diplomatic visit.

Ahead of the summit’s official opening, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with President Xi on Sunday, their first in nearly ten months.

The two leaders discussed ways to stabilize and enhance India-China relations, following the recent breakthrough on border management protocols. Both sides have reportedly agreed to new patrolling norms along the 3,500-kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC), signaling a thaw after four years of heightened tensions.

This meeting is particularly notable as it comes just months after their last interaction on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia in 2024.

Officials say the Tianjin meeting aimed to build on that momentum by focusing on economic collaboration, regional security, and managing strategic competition in Asia.

(IANS)

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