SCO Summit: plenary session kicks off

The plenary session of 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit has kicked off at Qingdao International Convention Center in China's Qingdao city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Qingdao on Saturday afternoon, is also present on the occasion along with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani among other leaders.

Prior to this, a restricted session had taken place which was attended only by the SCO members.

The final day of the two-day annual summit commenced with a welcome ceremony and a group photo of leaders of the eight SCO member-states.

Ahead of the plenary session, Prime Minister Modi met with Chinese President Xi and shared handshake.

This is the first SCO Summit India is attending as a full-time member.

In June 2017, India and Pakistan became full members of the organisation at Astana summit in Kazakhstan.

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 per cent of global GDP.

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