New Delhi: India will be admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at a summit of the regional grouping on Thursday in Kazakhstan, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present.
Pakistan will also be admitted as a full member of the SCO along with India during the Astana summit.
"Indications are that the last leg of the entire process, as per the Memorandum of Obligations, which is the confirmation (of membership) by the heads of the states of the existing members of the SCO, is going to happen in Astana," GV Srinivas, joint secretary of the Eurasia division in the MEA, told PTI on Wednesday. ALSO READ | 70 Yrs After Snatching It from India, Pak Selling Gilgit-Baltistan land to China
Srinivas said that there could be a couple of more bilateral meetings between India and heads of the member states.
However, there is no meeting scheduled between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
When asked whether Modi would meet Xi on the sidelines of the SCO summit, MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said, "There is a possibility, but the schedule is being worked out and our missions are coordinating locally."
On Modi and Sharif's meeting, he said, "External Affairs Minister (Sushma Swaraj) has already said that there was neither any request from their side nor any such proposal from our side. There is no change in the status on this."
Srinivas said India had been an observer country at the SCO since 2005 and had applied for a full membership in 2014.
During Modi's visit to St Petersburg earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin had conveyed to India about its admission as a full member of the SCO.
He said 38 different documents have been signed by India to be a part of the body.
On being asked that the SCO summit statement of 2015 had a reference to the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), a Chinese initiative opposed by India, the official said the aspect was not part of the 38 documents signed by India to become a member of the grouping.
The One Belt One Road (OBOR) project under the Belt and Road Forum seeks to connect China with Europe, Asia and Africa. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is also a part of the project.
India opposes CPEC as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
India also hopes to benefit from Tashkent-based Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (RATS).
"There is little possibility of India staying out of such an exercise. We hope that as we join the RATS, we will be able to benefit from this collaboration against our fight against terrorism. They (RATS) do a series of activities, including joint exercises in fighting terrorism, maintaining a data bank of terrorists and undesirable elements etc," Srinivas said.
Responding to a query on whether or not India would be invited to participate in any anti-terror exercise alongside Pakistan and China, Baglay said, "We work with many countries, including Pakistan, as well as in UN peacekeeping operations. Terrorism is a fight which is incumbent on the entire humanity, not just countries."
Comments
0 comment