External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attends SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Russia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday attended the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation here in the Russian capital.

“At the formal opening of the meeting in Moscow of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” Jaishankar tweeted along with a group photo of the foreign ministers of the SCO member states including China and Pakistan.

It was the third SCO foreign ministers meeting that India attended as a full member of the eight-nation bloc.

S Jaishankar, Uzbek counterpart agree to coordinate closely on regional concerns

The SCO-CFM is the highest forum of SCO after the Council of Heads of State (CHS) and the Council of Heads of Government (CHG). It deliberates on important regional and international issues and considers documents for approval and adoption by the Council of Heads of State.

"India has been taking active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms under the Chairmanship of the Russian Federation in this year. The SCO Summit will be held in the near future," the MEA said in a statement in New Delhi earlier this week.

The CFM meeting in Moscow will review the preparations for the forthcoming SCO summit and also exchange views on international and regional issues.

Jaishankar meets Russian counterpart; discusses ways to enhance bilateral ties

On the sidelines of the SCO meet, Jaishankar is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Both India and China are members of the influential regional bloc that primarily focuses on security related issues.

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 were admitted as observers of the grouping in 2005. Both the countries were admitted as full members of the bloc in 2017.