Jaishankar to Represent India Instead of Modi at SCO Summit in Kazakhstan

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday to lead the Indian delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State. He will be representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit on July 3 and 4, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The summit will see leaders from various Eurasian countries, including newly added Belarus. Notable attendees include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the Presidents of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will host the event. Chinese President Xi Jinping has already arrived in Astana for a state visit and bilateral meetings before the SCO summit. However, Iran’s President might not attend due to ongoing elections in his country.

Upon his arrival, Mr. Jaishankar met with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu. He shared on social media that they discussed the growing strategic partnership between India and Kazakhstan and India’s increasing involvement with Central Asia.

The summit will kick off with a reception on July 3, and Mr. Jaishankar is scheduled to speak during the plenary session on the morning of July 4.

The Ministry of External Affairs stated that the summit will review the SCO’s activities over the past 20 years and discuss future multilateral cooperation. Regional and international issues will also be on the agenda. The ministry did not provide a reason for Prime Minister Modi’s absence from the summit.

While Mr. Modi might still address the summit virtually, his decision to skip the event in Kazakhstan avoids potential awkwardness with the Chinese President and Pakistan PM, given the strained relations with both countries. Mr. Modi is set to meet the Russian President in Moscow for a bilateral visit on July 8 and 9. However, his absence might disappoint Central Asian leaders, as his planned engagements with them have been canceled twice in recent years—once in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and again when the SCO Summit in July 2023 was turned into a virtual event. The next SCO Heads of Government meeting is scheduled to be held in Pakistan later this year, and the next SCO Summit will be hosted by China in 2025, leaving uncertainty about Mr. Modi’s attendance at future SCO events.

Astana Declaration

On Thursday, the SCO Council will adopt the Astana Declaration, focusing on strengthening economic ties, connectivity, combating terrorism, and regional developments among SCO countries. During the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting in May, MEA Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi emphasized the importance of maximizing the use of the Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which connects India to Central Asia and Russia via Iran. He also mentioned the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which has faced delays due to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Pakistan Prime Minister Mr. Sharif is expected to offer Qasim port and Gwadar port as trade routes for land-locked Central Asian countries. Both India and Pakistan joined the SCO in 2017, and their leaders have often clashed over issues like terrorism and transit trade at high-level meetings, including in Uzbekistan in 2022 and last year’s SCO Foreign Minister’s meeting in Goa.

The leaders will also discuss the situation in Afghanistan, including recent talks held by the United Nations in Doha. Nearly all SCO members are closely engaged with the Taliban regime in Kabul. The SCO, which started in 2001, currently includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Iran became a full member in 2023, and Belarus is set to be inducted during the meeting in Astana.