PM Nawaz, Russian President Putin meet in Kazakhstan.
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here.
The prime minister said the membership would help Pakistan combat terrorism, reduce arms race, fight poverty and deal with climate change and water scarcity.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi reiterated his stand on terrorism by saying, "Terrorism is a major threat to humanity".
While emphasising that connectivity with SCO countries is India’s top priority, Modi said that such projects should not impinge a country’s sovereignty.
He congratulated Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev for the successful organisation of the summit that witnessed the entry of India and Pakistan as a full member states.
There has been speculation about a possible meeting between Modi and Sharif in Astana to ease the growing tension between the two neighbours.
The meeting was attended by leaders from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia, Turkey, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Cambodia, and Azerbaijan.
According to Kazakhistan’s news agency Kazinform, the leaders of the SCO will issue a joint statement on combating the worldwide terrorism during the summit.
It aims to boost bilateral relations in trade, politics, culture and economy.