EAM meet Iran's FM Abdullahian at SCO; Discusses ‘working together on regional’ issues

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his counterpart from Iran on Friday to discuss views on the recent happenings in Afghanistan. He met Hossein Amirabdollahian during the SCO meet in Dushanbe to discuss ways to improve bilateral ties and also met with the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan and Armenia. Jaishankar is in the Tajik capital to participate in the meeting organised by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan after the country was taken over by the Taliban last month. Jaishankar said in a tweet, "Discussed strengthening our bilateral relations and working together on regional challenges[sic].”

In his meeting with the newly appointed Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Jaishankar said that the two ministers discussed extensively on how to work together to expand the bilateral ties even further. After his meeting with the foreign minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov, Jaishankar tweeted, “Good to meet FM Abdulaziz Kamilov of Uzbekistan. Our conversation focused on the Afghanistan situation. As countries combating terrorism and fundamentalism, our close cooperation is in mutual interest[sic].”

Actor Prachee Panday and her group of dancers performed for the audience with an exquisite sequence in the gala concert at the SCO Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed the annual SCO summit and spoke on the developments in Afghanistan as well as the overall regional security scenario. Later during the day, Jaishankar is scheduled for another meeting to discuss Afghanistan with the heads of state of SCO and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

What is the SCO?

The SCO is considered a counterweight to the NATO and is an eight-member economic and security bloc. It has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. India and Pakistan became their permanent members in 2017. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence. India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

(With inputs from PTI)

(Image: AP/PTI)