India to attend events on Afghanistan in Uzbekistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): India will attend a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers and an international conference on Afghanistan, says a media report.

Uzbekistan, the SCO chair for the current year, it will be hosting all key events of the regional grouping, including the SCO Leaders’ Summit.

Meetings of SCO interior and defence ministers are scheduled to take place in Tashkent.

The Financial Express reported External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar would visit Uzbekistan next week to attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting, slated for July 28-29.

Food security, regional stability and poverty alleviation are on the agenda, which also includes dismantling of trade barriers and development of intra-regional trade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to participate in the SCO summit in Samarkand, tentatively scheduled for September 15-16.

SCO is comprised of India, Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Like Belarus and Mongolia, Afghanistan is among the three observer states.

India would also attend the “Afghanistan: security and economic development” conference in Uzbekistan, penciled in for July 25-26.

Delegations from more than 20 countries and several international organisations will attend the conference.

Participants will confer on the security situation as well as the current humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

PAN Monitor/mud

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