PM Modi Arrives In Bishkek For SCO Summit; To Hold Independent Talks With Xi And Putin

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan today (13 June) as part of his two-day visit to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit being held there, reports The Times of India.

On the sidelines of the main summit, Modi will hold discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The SCO is a group of Eurasian countries which cooperate on economic, security and political issues. Currently, the organisation has eight members states, and four states which have observer status. Both India and Pakistan are full-fledged members, joining the SCO in 2017.

Recently there was speculation over what flight path Modi’s aircraft would take to reach Bishkek, considering the natural route is through Pakistani airspace. Although Pakistani authorities gave clearance to his aircraft from their end, eventually the decision was made for Modi’s aircraft to take alternate route via Oman and Iran, rather than going over Pakistani airspace.