External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov here on Monday to discuss bilateral ties ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s New Delhi visit next month. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Jaishankar is arriving here to lead the Indian delegation at the meeting of Council of Prime Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday. Pakistan, also a member of SCO, will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. However, according to sources, there is no provision for his bilateral meeting with Jaishankar.
According to Kremlin sources, Putin is scheduled to meet the leaders of the SCO, hosted by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are founding members of the SCO which was later expanded by admitting India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus as full members. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday met Qatar’s top leadership here and discussed major aspects of the bilateral relationship including energy and trade, as well as regional and global issues. He held a meeting with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and also called on Qatar's Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
