The SCO member countries are India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. Along with Li, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will also hold bilateral meetings with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on April 27.
Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting this week, The Global Times reported citing the Chinese Defence Ministry. It is his maiden visit to India. The SCO Defence Ministers' meeting will be held on April 27 and 28 in New Delhi.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1650708191112511495
Along with Li, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will also hold bilateral meetings with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on April 27.
Li Shangfu, who was named as China's new Defence Minister a month ago, has been under US sanctions since 2018. His appointment comes amid increasingly tense relations between Beijing and Washington, CNN reported.
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The Chinese Defence Ministry said that the minister will make a speech at the event and meet with the heads of delegations from other countries, as per the Global Times report.
This is the first time that a Chinese Defence Minister will visit India after the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.
The two countries have a long history of border transgressions and a recent clash occurred in December 2022 in Arunachal Pradesh.
In the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, the Chinese troops allegedly tried to change the status quo on LAC in eastern Ladakh.
In the hand-to-hand conflict, twenty Indian soldiers died in sub-zero temperatures on the near pitch-black night of June 15 and June 16, 2020.
It was one of the deadliest confrontations between India and China. The Chinese state media completely failed to cover the incident.
Following the Galwan clash, several rounds of military and diplomatic talks were held to resolve the standoff.
As a result, disengagement at some border points happened but there is still an impasse on complete disengagement.
The SCO meeting is expected to further the discussions of disengagement.
After the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting, the Foreign Ministers' meet is scheduled to be held on May 4-5 in Goa. Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is expected to take part in that meeting.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Apr 25, 2023 2:26 PM IST
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