Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed their participation in the event, according to recent information. Dignitaries from Iran, Belarus and Mongolia will participate as observers, and Turkmenistan will attend as a guest, as usual.

Leaders of the organization and of the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Independent States of the Commonwealth, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia will also participate.

At the initiative of the Prime Minister of India, the theme of the Summit is Towards a Secure SCO, with a view to emphasizing the objective of working on strengthening security, economy and trade, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and the environment, according to a recent statement from the Foreign Ministry of India.

During its SCO presidency, India established new avenues of cooperation in the sectors of innovation and traditional medicine, digital inclusion, youth empowerment and to highlight Shared Buddhist heritage.

Furthermore, India has worked to foster greater people-to-people ties as upholders of the historical and civilizational ties between the nations of the bloc.

The Indian authorities value his period at the helm of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as of intense activity and mutually beneficial collaboration between member states.

jrr/llp/lam/lrd