About a month before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on July 4, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that it would be held virtually. It was said that the heads of state of the member countries would personally participate in the meeting, but it has suddenly been changed.
The Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release, ‘Under the first chairmanship of India, the 22nd Summit of the Heads of State of the SCO will be held virtually on July 4, 2023, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair.’
The release said that SCO member countries China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had been invited to participate in the summit through video conference. Turkmenistan is a permanent invitee, while the presidents of Iran, Belarus and Mongolia have been invited as observer countries.
Why Was It Decided To Hold The Summit Virtually?
It was not told by the Ministry of External Affairs why it was decided to call the summit virtually. However, when the meeting was planned from the venue, invitations were sent to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and leaders of Central Asian countries to visit Delhi. In such a situation, questions are being raised about whether this decision has been taken due to uneasy relations with Pakistan and China.
Diplomatic sources say that they were informed just before the announcement of the Ministry of External Affairs to organize the summit virtually. SCO’s National Coordinator Yojana Patel sent an urgent letter on Monday to the member countries and SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming, simply saying that ‘India wants to inform you all that the SCO summit meeting to be held on July 4 will be held virtually.’
Last year, the SCO meeting was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in which PM Narendra Modi participated.
China and Pakistan Did Not Confirm To Attend The Meeting
Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that one of the reasons behind the virtual summit could be that the leaders of some countries, including China and Pakistan, had not confirmed their participation in the meeting. Russian President Vladimir Putin was also less likely to attend the meeting regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Officials said that PM Modi’s travel schedule is also hectic. He is visiting America from June 19-24 and will be in Paris on July 14 to participate in the National Day Parade.
At the same time, the venue’s work has not been completed at the place where the summit was to be held. The summit was to be held at Pragati Maidan in Delhi, but it is impossible to be ready in a month.
China Can Also Be A Reason
China can also be a big reason behind holding the meeting virtually. SCO is called an organization dominated by China. It is believed that in the current global situation, India does not want to give much importance to the organizations of countries led by China.
