Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend SCO summit in Astana

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Kazakhstan’s Astana this week

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Kazakhstan's capital Astana this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on June 30. He will also pay a state visit to Tajikistan, it said.

From July 2 to 6, President Xi will attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in Astana, the Ministry said.

Officials say the situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict and boosting overall security cooperation among the SCO member countries are expected to figure in the summit.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

India will be represented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier said.

Officials say there is a likelihood of a meeting on the sidelines of the summit between Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is expected to accompany Mr. Xi.

If it takes place, it will be the first high-level meeting between Indian and Chinese officials after the formation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 3.0 government following the recent general elections in India.