China welcomes PM Modi's planned visit to attend SCO Summit
Beijing, Aug 8 (PTI): China on Friday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be held later this month, expressing hope that the event would be a "gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results".
Prime Minister Modi is expected to travel to China later this month after a gap of over seven years to attend the annual summit of the SCO, people familiar with the matter in Delhi said this week.
"China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said while responding to a question on reports about Modi's visit to China to attend the Tianjin summit to be held from August 31 to September 1.
"We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness," Guo said.
Guo said that leaders of over 20 countries, including all member states of the SCO and heads of 10 international organisations, will attend relevant events.
"The SCO Tianjin Summit will be the largest summit in scale since the establishment of the SCO," the spokesperson added.
Also, Indian Ambassador to China Pradeep Rawat on Friday met with Liu Jinsong, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two sides had a comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views on China-India relations and issues of common concern, said a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Modi is expected to embark on a visit to Japan around August 29, and after concluding the trip, he will travel to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit.
There is no official confirmation yet on Modi's two-nation visit to Japan and China.
Modi last visited China in June 2018 to attend the SCO summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India in October 2019 for the second "informal summit". However, the relationship came under stress due to the eastern Ladakh border face-off.
The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties.
The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.
In the last few months, both sides revived the Special Representative dialogue on the boundary question and other dialogue mechanisms.
The decision to revive various dialogue mechanisms was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi at Kazan in Russia on October 23, 2024.
The Modi-Xi meeting came two days after India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok.
The two sides also took a number of initiatives to rebuild the ties, which included the resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.
Both sides are also discussing modalities to resume direct flight services between the two countries.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval visited China in the last two months to attend the SCO meetings.
China is the current chair of the SCO.
It is not immediately clear whether PM Modi and President Xi will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
It is expected that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among the top leaders who will participate in the SCO summit.
The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus, is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
It was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Pakistan became a permanent member along with India in 2017. Iran joined the grouping in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
