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With several of the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries facing the brunt of US sanctions, the grouping’s leaders on Monday discussed ways to diversify and strengthen regional trade and connectivity, with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi flagging the safety of seafarers, including in the Black Sea region, and the need to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
In Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, the PM on Monday met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin. While the Iranian leader asked Modi to be the peacemaker in the conflict in West Asia by leveraging India’s extensive contacts in the region, the PM urged the Russian leader to move from “endless war to the end of war” and called for an immediate end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The need to strengthen trade ties featured prominently in Modi’s meetings with both Pezeshkian and Putin on the margins of the SCO Summit in Bishkek. Modi and Putin welcomed the increase in India-Russia bilateral trade since the Russian President’s visit to India in December. The PM said during his meeting with the Russian President that the two leaders always keep their respective national interests uppermost.
Putin said the SCO is working to extend and strengthen contacts between the countries of the global South and East, to promote the region’s socioeconomic and cultural development, and to facilitate the formation of a fair and multipolar world. He said Modi’s personal attention has contributed to the development of Russian-Indian relations.
The Russian leader agreed that the growing trade imbalance between the two countries should be addressed, and the two leaders said market access for India’s exports of meat, marine produce, and dairy had improved in recent months. It was their first meeting this year. Putin is scheduled to visit India for the Brics Summit on September 12-13, while Modi will be in Russia later this year for the India-Russia annual summit.
According to an Iranian readout of their meeting, Modi and Pezeshkian discussed transport and maritime cooperation, the Strait of Hormuz, and the progress of cooperation at Iran’s Chabahar Port. It was their first meeting since the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia.
Modi said that he reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to strengthening India’s longstanding friendship with Iran across diverse sectors. “We want to expand and diversify our trade basket in the times to come,” Modi said in a post on X after meeting Pezeshkian. The PM said he looked forward to welcoming the Iranian leader to New Delhi for the Brics Summit. Iran is a full member of Brics.
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Pezeshkian said Iran and India have extensive potential to expand cooperation in political, economic, scientific, and cultural fields. He stressed that stronger bilateral cooperation and efforts to neutralise the effects of sanctions can help further advance economic relations between the two countries. Indian officials said entities involved in India-Iran trade would need to factor in the sanctions, but also look at newer opportunities, wherever possible.
Probably alluding to India’s ties with both Israel and the US, as well as with the Gulf states, Pezeshkian urged Modi to use India’s extensive contacts with various parties to help them move away from the path of war and bloodshed and return to the path of dialogue and agreement, according to the Iranian readout of the meeting.
Modi said India will continue to support all efforts aimed at ensuring lasting peace. The PM called for safeguarding the freedom of navigation and commerce, and emphasised that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including commercial shipping and seafarers, must not be harmed under any circumstances. Dozens of seafarers, including several Indians, have been killed in both the Black Sea and near the Strait of Hormuz in recent months.
Pezeshkian said that Iran’s efforts have been to work towards peace. “Unfortunately, instead of making use of diplomatic mechanisms, the Americans have chosen the path of war, insecurity, and imposing their will through force,” he said, according to the readout. The Iranian leader referred to India’s important position and capacities in the region and the world, as well as the deep historical and cultural ties between the two nations. He thanked New Delhi for its cooperation with Iran during the recent US–Israeli war on the country.
According to the Iranian readout, Modi said that, with the understanding he has gained of Pezeshkian’s personality, he thinks the Iranian president is a peace-loving person and that Pezeshkian can play an effective role in achieving peace. The PM said that some people see their interests in war, but everyone must redouble their efforts to establish peace. He said he believed that, ultimately, peace and security will prevail, IRNA reported.
The PM also held a bilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, where the two leaders spoke of growing cooperation in defence, information technology, space, education, and pharmaceuticals. “We are equally certain to deepen trade and investment linkages in the times to come,” Modi said. The PM also met Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov, where the two agreed to further enhance economic and commercial cooperation and expand defence and security linkages.
The PM is scheduled to meet other leaders attending the SCO Summit, and is likely to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the concluding day of the summit on Tuesday. On Monday, at their meeting, Putin told Xi that Moscow is ready to work with Beijing to make the visa-free regime between the two countries permanent. Putin said visa-free travel had helped increase tourist flows between the countries by 43 per cent in the first half of the year. At his meeting with the Kyrgyz President, Xi called on China and Kyrgyzstan to ensure high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. The under-construction rail link is a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, serving as a strategic link between China and Central Asia.
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