SCO summit: Concrete steps by Pakistan must for peace talks, says Modi

Chinese President Xi Jinping accepts Modi's invitation to visit India this year

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raised the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping here and said India expects “concrete action” by Islamabad to create an atmosphere free of terror for the resumption of dialogue.

Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here and discussed the full spectrum of bilateral relations.

This is the first meeting between the two leaders after Modi's re-election following the stunning victory of the BJP in the general elections last month.

The meeting also comes a month after the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the powerful UN Security Council designated Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist after China, Pakistan's closest ally, lifted its technical hold on the proposal to blacklist him.

Briefing the reporters after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that there was a brief discussion on Pakistan during the talks between the two leaders.

He said India has a consistent position with respect to Pakistan that it wants peaceful relations with Islamabad.

‘Extremely fruitful meet' with Xi

"Had an extremely fruitful meeting with President Xi. Our talks included the full spectrum of India-China relations. We shall continue working together to improve economic and cultural ties between our nations," Modi tweeted after the delegation-level talks with Xi.

PM Narendra Modi meets Chinese President XI Jinping

The meeting began with Xi congratulating Prime Minister Modi over his election victory. "After the election results in India, I got your message, and today again you wish me on the victory, I am very grateful to you for this," Modi replied.

"On behalf of all Indians, I wish you a very happy birthday," Modi told Xi, greeting the Chinese leader who will turn 66 on June 15.

PM meets Putin

Modi also met Russian President Vladimir Putin here and the two leaders reviewed all aspects of bilateral relations to further strengthen the bilateral strategic relationship.
 

This is the first meeting between the two leaders after Modi's re-election.

Modi, Putin and Xi held a trilateral meeting, the second among the three countries after a gap of 12 years, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires in December during which they underscored the benefits of a multilateral trading system and an open world economy for global growth and prosperity.