EAM Jaishankar holds talks with Kyrgyz and Tajik counterpart on sidelines of SCO meeting

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Kyrgyz and Tajik counterpart on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting on September 9. Jaishankar arrived in Moscow on September 8 on a four-day visit to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the SCO before a stopover in Tehran.

The union minister congratulated Tajik foreign minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin and the people of Tajikistan on their Independence Day. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that the strategic partnership between the two countries continues to reach newer heights. After the meeting, he expressed pleasure over the growing bilateral cooperation.

Jaishankar also had a “fruitful meeting” with his Kyrgyz counterpart Chingiz Aidarbekov on the SCO sideline where they discussed bilateral issues. He thanked Aidarbekov for facilitating the return of Indian nationals stuck in Kyrgyzstan during the coronavirus pandemic and agreed to enhance strategic ties.

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Around 4,500 Indian students are studying medicine in various institutions in Kyrgyzstan and a few businessmen are engaged in trade and services. Air India operated several flights under Vande Bharat mission to evacuate Indian nationals from all over the world, including Kyrgyzstan.

Meeting amid tensions with China

This is the third Council of Foreign Ministers meeting that India is attending as a full member of the SCO and earlier the two meetings were held in Beijing and Bishkek in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that India has been taking an active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms under the Chairmanship of Russia. The meeting comes at a time when the tensions along the LAC have flared up with China and Jaishankar is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

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