PM Modi likely to skip SCO summit in Kazakhstan in July; Putin, Xi, Sharif may attend

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to skip SCO Summit in Kazakhstan, raising questions about India's commitment to the grouping.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to skip the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be held in Kazakhstan next month, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to officiate in his place. According to sources aware of the decision, Mr. Modi has decided not to travel to Astana for the summit to be held on July 3-4, although he had earlier confirmed his presence, and an advance security team had conducted its reconnaissance survey there.

The summit hosted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Central Asian leaders and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Mr. Modi’s decision to miss the SCO Heads of State Council in Astana could also have a bearing on India’s participation in the SCO Heads of Government conference due to be held in Islamabad in “Autumn 2024”, which Pakistan would host.

When asked on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal declined to confirm India’s participation in the SCO, saying that details of the visit were not yet “finalised”.

The sources cited the upcoming Parliament session, which will run from June 24 to July 3, as the reason for Mr. Modi’s decision. In addition to the Speaker’s election and the President’s address to both Houses, the Prime Minister is expected to reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha between July 2 and 4.

The SCO, originally a Eurasian security and economic grouping promoted by Russia and China in 2001, includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan as full members. Iran and Belarus will be inducted this year. 

Mr. Modi’s absence at the SCO, despite the presence of other international leaders, is likely to raise questions over India’s commitment to the grouping that it joined just seven years ago as a full member.  Mr. Modi had visited Kazakhstan to attend the SCO Summit in 2017, but the setting has become more troublesome for New Delhi over the past few years. India’s tensions with Pakistan, which also was inducted in 2017, have often been the chief irritant at the conference, with leaders of both countries taking aim at each other over the issue of terrorism.  

During the COVID pandemic in 2020-2021, the SCO summits were held virtually. Since the military standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the deadly Galwan clashes of 2020, and the breakdown in ties, Mr. Modi has not met Chinese President Xi Jinping for a bilateral meeting anywhere, although he has engaged briefly with him on the sidelines of the G-20 in Indonesia in 2022 and the BRICS summit in South Africa in 2023.