Dalai Lama on PM Modi, Xi Jinping’s meeting

The meetings of the defence and foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), being attended by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, began in Beijing on Tuesday. Both nations say they are committed to solving longstanding border disagreements through dialogue, but progress has been glacial.

It was followed by two meetings between Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and the visit early this year by Indias Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to Beijing.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said that the Council of Foreign Ministers will discuss issues relating to peace and security at regional and worldwide level and promotion of cooperation between member states. The foreign minister appreciated the vibrant role of SCO in the region as a significantly vital forum for regional cooperation.

“Even two foreign ministers can not make the friendship of our countries more stronger, than the students of China, who love the Hindi language”. This visit will be the part of which she will engage in a ministerial-level meeting of the SCO.

Before meeting President Xi, Swaraj called on Chinese vice-President Wang Qishan at Zhongnanhai in the Chinese capital.

The SCO should enhance coordination and cooperation on worldwide and regional affairs, the senior diplomats said.

“We believe it is a objective of the SCO to promote relevant cooperation in that field”.

“I think it is really good that they are meeting”.

China appreciates Pakistan’s consistent and firm support on issues concerning China’s core interests.

It comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was stopped by China in the aftermath of the military face-off with India previous year at Doklam. In this sense, the summit recalls the 2014 meeting between former U.S. President Barack Obama and Xi at Sunnylands in California – that meeting also provided the two leaders with an informal setting in which to discuss their understandings of global issues broadly. In another rare occurrence, Prime Minister Modi will be in China again in June for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.

But the “recovery is marred and disrupted by unseemingly protectionist noises that are coming out from the Atlantic basin from north and America and Europe”, he said in a thinly veiled attack on USA and Western countries’ protectionist policies. The two also regularly trade allegations of harassment and espionage against diplomats.

Swaraj has also assured 25 Hindi learning students in China that soon they will be visiting India. Hundreds of people have been killed or wounded in the clashes instigated by India. The agenda is created to redefine the future relationship of the two countries, according to Indian media reports. She played on India’s soft power mentioning the popularity of Bollywood films like “Dangal” in China. Last week, India accused Pakistan of inciting the Sikh community to intensify the “Khalistan” campaign. “India should approach China, and also Russian Federation, who face similar threats as India does”, he said, suggesting that the subsequent meeting of Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China in June would further the effort.

The summit, announced in a joint press conference held Sunday, is scheduled for April 27 and 28 in Wuhan.

The Union Minister, who is on a four-day China visit, will be leaving for Mongolia for a two-day visit on 25 April – a first by an Indian EAM in 42 years.