Indian PM Modi on His Way to Russia for BRICS, SCO Summits

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Russia on Wednesday to participate in the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summits to be held in the city of Ufa, the Indian channel NDTV reported Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — India is a member of the BRICS group of developing economies, which also includes Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa, as well as an observer state of the SCO security bloc, whose permanent members are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Both summits are being held in Ufa and will conclude on Friday, July 10.

NDTV reported that Modi is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day and with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday, on the sidelines of the summits.

During the meeting with Xi, Modi is expected to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues, including India's concerns over a project to create a $46-billion economic corridor between China and Pakistan passing through Kashmir, the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, the channel said.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over Kashmir ever since British rule ended in the subcontinent almost seven decades ago. Four wars and a number of military conflicts later, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in 2003. Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce ever since.

According to NDTV, Modi's meeting with Sharif is highly anticipated, as the two leaders last met in November 2014, without holding formal talks. Officials have kept silent on the details of their upcoming meeting.

On Monday, Modi embarked on a six-nation tour. The prime minister visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan ahead of the summits in Russia, and will travel to Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan before returning to India.