At a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Friday in Goa, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar gave Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari a “Namastey” in greeting.
Zardari is visiting India for the first time in nearly 12 years as he attends the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). On Thursday, the two-day gathering of SCO member states got underway.
Videos showed the Jaishankar giving Zardari a traditional Indian “Namastey” greeting rather than shaking his hand.
Zardari expressed his eagerness for productive discussions with his counterparts from friendly nations upon his arrival in the coastal State yesterday.
JP Singh, joint secretary for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, met the Pakistani minister at the airport.
On the invitation of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the Pakistani politician is present at the SCO summit.
“I am happy to arrive in Goa for participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. I am leading the Pakistan delegation at SCO and hope that the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) will be successful,” Zardari said in a video on Thursday shared by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson.
Ahead of Day Two of the SCO conclave foreign ministers of the member countries began to arrive at Taj Exotica venue and Jaishankar also welcomed SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to the Meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.
On Thursday, Jaishankar held a meeting with Chinese counterpart Qin Gang. The discussions focussed on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring “peace and tranquillity” in the border areas.
“A detailed discussion with State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China on our bilateral relationship. Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas. Also discussed SCO, G20 and BRICS,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, also folded his hands in greeting as his Indian counterpart Jaishankar was welcomed to the SCO meeting.
Yesterday, Jaishankar and Lavrov had private discussions.
The external affairs minister also welcomed the foreign ministers of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan to Goa.
Prior to the main meeting on Friday, India hosted a cultural event on Thursday night.
‘Secure-SCO’ is the focus of India’s 2023 SCO chairmanship.
An intergovernmental organisation called the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was founded in 2001. India, Russia, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are the other nations that make up the SCO. India assumed the SCO’s rotating presidency at the Samarkand summit in 2022.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s most recent gathering took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. At the SCO Summit in Samarkand in 2022, India assumed the rotating SCO presidency.
