Shehbaz, Modi to share stage for first time in Tianjin next month

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will be under one-roof next month in Chinese city Tianjin for the first time ever since the former assumed the office.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be present in the same vicinity as the leaders will be gathering for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. It would be first such gathering of the leaders in three years where they will sit face to face across the table.

Sources told The News here on Friday that Prime Minister Shehbaz would be leaving for Beijing in the last week of August where he may undertake a bilateral visit besides visiting Northern China’s city Tianjin. PM Shehbaz Sharif would pay gratitude to Chinese President Xi and Chinese nation for its remarkable support for Pakistan during the Indian aggression of May last where Pakistan inflicted heavy defeat upon India.

Indian sources also confirmed about Narendra Modi visit to Tianjin for the SCO summit. It would be his first visit to China since 2019. India’s ties with China came under severe strain following the 2020 military standoff in Galwan along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh when Indian troops ventured to defy the line. The meeting between President Xi and Modi on the brinks of the summit couldn’t be ruled out. The two met last during the BRICS summit in Russia in October 2024.

Interestingly Foreign Minister/ DPM Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar and Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishanker were together in Beijing for an SCO conclave but they were not seen shaking hands despite opportunities. Indian EAM remained hostile during his all activities in the Chinese capital.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had said the other day that leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organisations will attend the Tianjin Summit and related events next month. The Tianjin Summit will be held from August 31 to September 1, Wang said during a joint press meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev.