Looking Forward to Fruitful Outcomes at SCO Summit: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tashkent, the Uzbekistan capital, on Thursday.

The US, which has been supporting India’s NSG bid, has said New Delhi is “ready” for NSG membership and asked participating governments to support its application at the plenary session of NSG in Seoul. “We did not target any country, India or Pakistan”, Hua said in a media briefing.

Foreign Office said that Pakistan was invited to start the process of becoming full SCO member at the Heads of State Council meeting held in Ufa, Russia in July 2015.

Kamilov emphasized the important role of the Council of National Coordinators of SCO member states in the organization’s activity. Pakistan will be represented by President Mamnoon Hussain. At the same time, she said the Prime Minister will have couple of other bilaterals.

It is not yet clear when the process for India and Pakistan admission into the group will be completed.

“As the entry of non-NPT countries has never been on top of the NSG agenda, the idea of blocking (India’s bid) is out of question”, Hua said.

The SCO is increasingly seen as a counterweight to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and its membership will help India have a greater say in issues relating to security and defence besides combating terrorism.

The Foreign Secretary’s sudden visit comes amid hectic Indian lobbying with NSG member nations for its entry into the club that regulates global nuclear commerce despite China’s opposition.

But, she added, “the parties are yet to see eye to eye on this issue”.

Modi said India attaches great importance to ties with Central Asia and always seeks to expand economic and people-to-people ties with the region.

At present Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are permanent members of the SCO, founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001.

Akram warned about the likely implications of a scenario in which India alone was admitted into the NSG, include dimming of future prospects for Pakistan’s entry into the club and likely growth in India’s nuclear arsenal. The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for expansion of the grouping.

Beijing’s statement comes a day after it said the NSG was divided over admitting India and the issue would not figure in the agenda of the NSG plenary in Seoul this week.