President Mamnoon, PM Modi shake hands at SCO Summit

QINGDAO: President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi were photographed shaking hands at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit at Qingdao on Sunday.

The two leaders exchanged good-natured remarks and shook hands after a press conference by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This is the first SCO Summit attended by the leaders of Pakistan and India, since both countries joined the regional organization last year. Earlier, Jinping gave the leaders of Pakistan and India a “special welcome” to their first summit of the SCO.

Earlier today, President Mamnoon also addressed a session at SCO summit and with regards to Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan, he said that peace and stability in Afghanistan is our shared objective and Pakistan and Afghanistan are working on a comprehensive strategy on a bilateral basis to establish peace in Afghanistan.

READ MORE: Mamnoon, Xi discuss regional security, global issues

Hussain also suggested that the platform of SCO Summit should be utilized to eradicate poverty, moreover, he urged member states to consider the establishment of a development fund to eliminate terrorism and extremism.

SCO was established in 2001 to combat extremism and other threats throughout China, Russia and Central Asia. The organization comprises eight member countries which include China, Russia, Pakistan, India and former Central Asian Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Mamnoon Hussain meets Tajik counterpart

President Mamnoon Hussain on Saturday met his counterpart Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan on the sidelines of the Qingdao Summit.

Both leaders held indepth consultations on matters of mutual interest. They reviewed progress in bilateral relations, expressed satisfaction on close fraternal relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening ties between the two brotherly nations.