PM Narendra Modi greets Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain at the SCO summit in China.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in China's Quindao to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, was seen greeting Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain today. The two leaders shook hands and exchanged greetings after signing of agreements between the members states of the eight nation bloc.
Leaders of eight member states and four observer states, as well as heads of international organisations are attending the summit, meant to explore ways to increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism and radicalization - among other issues of global relevance.
India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of failing to take action against terrorists harboured on its soil. The issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has been raised in various international forums to build pressure on Islamabad to dismantle the terror infrastructure.
Last week, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said, "Pakistan should stop terrorist acts emanating from their soil. They say they want to halt it. If they are not able to do so, why don't they take their neighbor's help?"
Since the attack at the army camp in Uri in September 2016, in which terrorists from Pakistan were involved, there has been a spate terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir. The biggest of these took place at an army camp in Sunjwan in February, which and cost 10 lives, six of them army personnel.
At the SCO summit, India is also likely to focus on the importance of regional connectivity projects to boost trade among members countries. India has been strongly pushing for connectivity projects like the Chabahar port project in Iran and the over-7,200 km long International North-South Transport Corridor to gain access to resource-rich Central Asian countries.
The Chabahar project became crucial as Pakistan does not allow India to send goods to Iran and Afghanistan through its territory by land. It is also expected to act as a counter to the Gwadar port in Pakistan, barely 100 km away, which is being developed by China.