India has announced via video conference that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State Summit will take place on July 4.
The Indian foreign ministry announced the decision on Tuesday, saying the 22nd SCO meeting would be held virtually and presided over by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Singh Modi.
The decision to hold the SCO meeting virtually is unexpected, and the Indian government has not provided any explanation, leading to speculation and conflicting opinions.
According to sources close to the situation, the decision was made on Monday and had nothing to do with the engagements of SCO member countries’ leaders.
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They stated that the leaders of China and Russia must attend the G20 summit in September.
If all member countries’ leaders were invited, it would be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to India since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
There was also the possibility of meeting the leaders of Pakistan and China with the leaders of India.
Experts in Pakistan believe that India went virtually to prevent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from visiting India.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari attended the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa, India, earlier this month, where he met with several of his counterparts but did not meet with his Indian counterpart, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The SCO is a political and security bloc comprised of Pakistan, Russia, and China, with India serving as chair since September.
