SCO Defense and Foreign Ministers' meetings begin in Beijing
What's the story
The meetings of Defense and Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), being attended by Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, began in Beijing today. The two meetings were being held as part of the preparations for the SCO summit to be held in the Chinese city of Qingdao in June. PM Narendra Modi is likely to attend the summit.
High-level meetings
First meeting after India and Pakistan became SCO members
These are the first top ministerial-level meetings of the SCO after the admission of India and Pakistan as the Organization's members last year. A host of issues including the regional security and terrorism are expected to be discussed at the meetings and prepare agenda for the SCO summit. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), headquartered in Beijing, was founded in 2001.
Information
What is the aim of SCO?
Comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, and Pakistan, the SCO aims to promote military cooperation between the member states; it involves intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia and joint work against cyber terrorism.