Sushma Swaraj to represent India at SCO summit in Sochi; may take up Hafiz Saeed's case

EAM Swaraj is expected to raise terror and Hafiz Saeed's release issue during the two-day SCO Summit in Sochi.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj will represent India at the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit being held in Russia's Sochi starting Thursday.

Swaraj had arrived in Russia's Sochi late on Wednesday. EAM Swaraj will have bilateral meetings with several leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Swaraj will attend the restricted meeting of the heads of delegations on December 1, which will be followed by the preliminary sessions.

She will also attend the reception hosted by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the same evening.

Shedding more light on Swaraj's visit, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, ''We attach special significance to the SCO in promoting political, economic and people-to-people contacts."

Asked whether she will have bilateral meetings with the Pakistan Foreign Minister or call on Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Kumar said her schedule is still being finalised.

On whether India will raise at the summit the issue of release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed from house arrest and the larger challenge of terrorism, Kumar said India has been working with like-minded countries to deal with the menace.

In June, India along with Pakistan had become a full-fledged member of the SCO.

India's membership was strongly pushed by Russia, while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region.

India had been an observer at the SCO since 2005. It has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. 

Swaraj will return back to India on December 2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the SCO summit in June in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. 

With ANI inputs