PM Modi meets Xi ahead of SCO summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met with Chinese President Xi Jingping and shared handshake ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Qingdao, a coastal city of China.

The second day of the 18th SCO summit commenced with a welcome ceremony and a group photo of leaders of the eight SCO member states.

A restricted session is then scheduled which is to be attended only by the SCO members. Thereafter, a plenary session will take place following signing ceremony and a joint press conference.

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

Prime Minister Modi reached China's Qingdao on Saturday afternoon to attend the two-day long summit, chaired by the Chinese President.

This is the first SCO summit after June 2017, when India and Pakistan were accepted as full members.

During the summit, the leaders of the member states will sign the Qingdao Declaration and some other agreements on security, economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

The leaders will also analyse international and regional security situations and discuss measures to boost cooperation.

The SCO was founded in Shanghai 17 years ago and it now accounts for nearly half of the world's population and over 20 percent of global GDP.

It is by far the largest regional organisation in the world.