Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping meet for the first time in eight months, an effort to mend ties between the two countries over many political issues, this Friday at the SCO Summit in Astana in Kazakhstan.
The SCO summit meeting was a first between the two leaders after India recently boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held last month which was attended by 29 world leaders in Beijing.
Narendra Modi is expected to talk on various issues between the two countries which includes the $ 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is a part of Belt and Road Initiative, which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and India’s move to list Jaish e Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as globally claimed terrorist by the UN.
In a protest against Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, China claimed its rights over the state saying it falls under their territory and thus renamed six places in Arunachal Pradesh in April.
The two leaders who will be meeting again in the BRICS Summit in Xiamen in September are expected to at least try to restore back the bilateral ties between the two nations along with having regular high level interactions between the two countries.
PM Modi is on a two-day visit to attend the SCO Summit in Kazakh, where India and its neighboring country Pakistan will be added as full members to the bloc. The two leaders earlier wisecracked when they met amidst the growing tensions along the LOC in Jammu and Kashmir, as reported in Hindustan Times.