Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, on Tuesday on a three-day visit to attend a defence ministerial conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu are also expected to attend the SCO meet, besides their counterparts from other member countries of the grouping. The SCO defence ministerial meeting is taking place around three weeks ahead of the annual summit of the influential grouping. The summit is scheduled for September 15-16 in Samarkand. "Tomorrow, August 23, I will be in Uzbekistan to take part in the SCO Defence Ministers Meet being held at Tashkent. I will be holding a bilateral meeting with Uzbekistan's Defence Minister, Lt. General Nizamovich, and also interact with the Indian community. Look forward to it," Singh said in a tweet on Monday. The defence ministry said Singh, during his August 23-25 visit to Tashkent, will meet the defence .
Deputy Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries held consultations in Moscow where they highlighted the need for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
All SCO member-countries, including Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, will be part of the mega exercise