PM Modi departs for India as SCO Summit ends

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday left for home after wrapping up his two-day visit to China during which he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit and held nearly half a dozen bilateral meetings, including with President Xi Jinping.

It is for the first time the Indian prime minister attended the SCO summit after India along with Pakistan became full-fledged members of the grouping, jointly dominated by China and Russia, which has been increasingly seen as a counter to NATO.

On the sidelines of the summit, Modi met President Xi during which they agreed to hold the next informal summit in India next year besides resolving to continue efforts to ensure peace and tranquility along the border.

The Prime Minister also held bilateral talks with leaders from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

He also shook hands with Pakistan President Manmoon Hussain and exchanged pleasantaries.

In his address at the plenary session of the 18th SCO summit here, Modi called for respect for sovereignty, economic growth, connectivity and unity among the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

He also coined an acronym 'SECURE' which he explained: 'S' for security for citizens, 'E' for economic development, 'C' for connectivity in the region, 'U' for unity, 'R' for respect of sovereignty and integrity, 'E' for environment protection.

The SCO currently has eight member countries which represents around 42 per cent of the world's population and 20 per cent of the global GDP.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its members last year.

PTI