Staff Correspondent, Zillar Barta Desk:Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are set to appear on the same platform at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday, August 31. Their presence at the same multilateral forum is drawing considerable attention amid strained relations between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor.
Prime Minister Modi is currently on a four-day visit to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from August 29 to September 1. After completing his engagements in Tashkent, he will travel to Bishkek to participate in the 26th SCO Summit, which is being held on August 31 and September 1.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also scheduled to attend the summit. The meeting will bring the two leaders together at an important international forum, alongside several other prominent leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The appearance of Modi and Shehbaz on the same platform is particularly significant given the tensions between India and Pakistan. Operation Sindoor had further intensified bilateral tensions, making their participation in the same international gathering a closely watched diplomatic development.
However, as of now, there has been no official confirmation of a separate one-to-one bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Reports indicate that the two leaders are confirmed to participate in the same multilateral forum.
The SCO Summit is expected to focus on regional security, counterterrorism, connectivity, economic cooperation and other major international issues. Prime Minister Modi has said that India will work with SCO members towards a region free from terrorism, separatism and extremism, while advancing India's vision of Security, Connectivity and Opportunity.
The Bishkek summit could therefore provide an important diplomatic setting for the two South Asian neighbours to be seen together after a period of heightened tensions, although any direct bilateral engagement between Modi and Shehbaz remains subject to further confirmation.
