China's Xi meets foreign leaders ahead of SCO Summit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in China after 7 years to attend SCO summit and meet President Xi
25th SCO summit and 'SCO Plus' meeting to be held on Sunday and Monday amid rising geopolitical tensions
ANKARA
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with world leaders who arrived in the port city of Tianjin on Saturday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, state media reported.
Xi met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Myanmar acting President Min Aung Hlaing, Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Tianjin, according to Xinhua News.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also arrived in China after seven years to attend the summit and meet Xi.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with his delegation, also arrived in Tianjin.
The 25th SCO summit and the "SCO Plus" meeting will be held on Sunday and Monday amid rising geopolitical tensions, including Israel’s war on Gaza, the Ukraine crisis, as well as tariff tensions.
As the rotating chair, Xi will preside over the huddle, which marks the fifth annual SCO summit hosted by China.
Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will attend the summit.
Among the participants will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Masood Pezeshkian.
Xi will also meet Erdogan on the sidelines of the crucial summit.
The summit’s agenda includes promoting the “Shanghai Spirit,” improving internal mechanisms, and fostering multilateral cooperation in areas such as security, economics, and culture.
A joint signing of the Tianjin Declaration and the approval of a strategy for the next decade are other expected outcomes.
The summit will issue statements marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II, and the 80th founding anniversary of the UN, aside from adopting a string of outcome documents on strengthening security, economic, people-to-people and cultural cooperation.
Founded in 2001, the SCO is a political and security alliance comprising 10 members: China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.
The Chinese leader will also host Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a large-scale military parade on Sept. 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
*Writing by Aamir Latif and Islamuddin Sajid
