PM Modi leaves for India after attending SCO summit

Samarkand, Sep 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi left Uzbekistan's historic city of Samarkand on Friday after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and holding bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The SCO held its first in-person summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan after two years. The summit also saw the participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin, Raisi and Pakistan Prime Mini­ster Shehbaz Sharif among other leaders from the Central Asian countries.

''Had productive multilateral and bilateral engagements at the SCO Summit. I thank the people and Government of Uzbekistan for their hospitality,'' Modi tweeted before leaving.

''A packed visit to Samarkand concludes as PM @narendramodi emplanes for New Delhi. PM's participation in the SCO Summit meetings and his bilateral conversations with our partners on the sidelines add strength to regional peace, security and prosperity,'' Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

Addressing the annual summit of the bloc, Modi called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to create trusted and resilient supply chains to offset the disruptions caused by the Ukraine crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic and said the members of the grouping should give each other full transit rights to expand connectivity.

Modi's emphasis on full transit rights comes amid Pakistan's reluctance to provide such a facility to India for trade with other countries such as Afghanistan.

It was for the first time Modi and Xi came face-to-face since the start of the border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh around 28 months back.

During the bilateral talks with Putin on the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Modi pressed the Russian President to end the conflict in Ukraine soon, saying ''today's era is not of war'' even as he called for finding ways to address the global food and energy security crisis.

Modi also underlined the importance of ''democracy, dialogue and diplomacy'' while calling for an early cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.

Modi and Uzbek President Mirziyoyev discussed ways to deepen connectivity, trade and cultural cooperation between their countries.

During their meeting, Modi and Iranian President Raisi discussed issues of bilateral and mutual interests.

Modi also met Turkish President Erdogan during which they reviewed bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in diverse sectors. Uzbekistan handed over the rotating presidency of the eight-member SCO to India in this historic city of Samarkand.

Launched in Shanghai in June 2001, the SCO has eight full members, including its six founding members, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.

Over the years, it has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations.

Iran has been admitted as a permanent member of the SCO at the Samarkand summit.