PM Modi meets Kyrgyzstan President on SCO sidelines

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met with Kyrgyzstan's President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on the sidelines of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in China's Qingdao city.

Prime Minister Modi, who held a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of other SCO countries, also met with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga.

He also held a meeting with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayevand invited the Central Asian country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), confirmed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Other leaders attending the summit include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Afghanistn President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.

Earlier in the day, the SCO leaders inked a number of agreements during the signing-in ceremony at the summit.

The SCO leaders signed the Qingdao Declaration and agreements on security, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges during the ceremony, which was held at Qingdao International Convention Center on the final day of the 18th SCO summit.

On Saturday Prime Minister Modi met Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

He also met with Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and talked about key sectors of bilateral cooperation.

The recent meetings constitute a part of India's growing engagement with resource-rich Central Asia.

The Prime Minister also held a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Modi in the evening, will depart for Qingdao Liuting International Airport and emplane for AFS Palam, where he is likely to reach around 10 in the night.