Sushma Swaraj to represent India at SCO summit in Sochi

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will represent India at the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Russian city of Sochi. The SCO summit will be held on November 30 and December 1 and it is likely to discuss the regional security scenario besides several other issues.

In June, India along with Pakistan had become a fullfledged member of the SCO, a China-dominated security grouping which is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO. “We attach special significance to the SCO in promoting political, economic and people-to-people contacts,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the SCO summit in June in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.

The spokesperson said Swaraj will have bilateral meetings with several leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Asked whether she will have bilateral meetings with the Pakistan Foreign Minister or call on Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Kumar said her schedule is still being finalised.

“At this stage we cannot say anything,” he said during a media briefing.

On whether India will raise at the summit the issue of release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed from house arrest and the larger challenge of terrorism, Kumar said India has been working with like-minded countries to deal with the meanace.

He said Swaraj will reach Sochi on November 29 and return on December 2.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region. India’s membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan’s entry into the grouping was backed by China. India had been an observer at the SCO since 2005. NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will hold talks with her counterparts from Finland, Denmark and Greece in the next few days to further boost bilateral ties.

She will hold extensive talks with Foreign Minister of Finland Timo Soini today on ways to deepen cooperation in several key areas including trade and investment.

Soini arrived here yesterday on a four-day visit.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said foreign minister of Greece Nikos Kotzias will be in India from November 25 to 28 and Swaraj will hold talks with him on November 27.