India attends SCO meeting
On May 13, 2020, External Affairs Minister of India Shri S Jaishankar represented India at SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) foreign minister meet. The meet was attended by foreign ministers through video conferencing.
China and Pakistan foreign ministers also attended the meet.
Highlights
The foreign ministers at the meet discussed COVID-19 crisis and coordination efforts. They also discussed about social and economic consequences of the crisis and how to tackle it. Apart from COVID-19, the major issue discussed was the situation in Afghanistan. The ministers also discussed about the upcoming 75th anniversary of World War 2 and also the 75th anniversary of United Nations.
Also, the preparation of the SCO Summit in St Petersburg, Russia was also discussed. It is scheduled to be conducted on June 9-10, 2020.
India in SCO
The minister expressed India’s readiness in sharing information and expertise in the fight against COVID-19. Also, he mentioned about the economic package that was announced in India on May 12, 2020.
SCO
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was formed in 2003. It extended its membership to 8 countries in 2017 after joining India and Pakistan. It covers three-fifths of the Eurasian continent.
The members of SCO are India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The Observer states of the organization are Iran, Belarus, Afghanistan and Mongolia.
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Month: Current Affairs - May, 2020