Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held on Thursday talks with his Chinese and Russian counterparts on the sidelines of Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Panaji district of western Indian state of Goa.

Jaishankar said on his official Twitter account that he held a detailed discussion with Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang on bilateral ties.

“Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas. Also discussed SCO, G20 and BRICS,” the Indian minister said.

He met Gang in March during the latter’s India visit for G20 foreign ministers meet and conveyed that due to the unresolved border issues, India-China ties are abnormal.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also discussed security issues with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in New Delhi last week.

Jaishankar as well held a discussion with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The talks covered the Ukraine conflict overall bilateral cooperation, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

Earlier today, Jaishankar held talks with SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming and appreciated his support for India’s SCO Presidency.

Commitment to secure the SCO is the focus of Indian presidency, Jaishankar said.

Foreign ministers of SCO members include India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who are participating in the two-day meeting.

Agendas of the SCO meeting include exchange of views on regional and global issues of concern, preparations for the upcoming meeting of the SCO heads of states, preparation of draft documents to be adopted at the summit, and discussion on admitting Iran and Belarus to the SCO as member states.

Startups, traditional medicine, youth empowerment, Buddhist heritage and science and technology will also be in the discussions.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also arrived in Goa today afternoon to attend the SCO meet, becoming the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India since 2011.

Source: Kuwait News Agency