"The meeting will also give an opportunity to discuss the state of multilateral cooperation in the SCO, regional and global issues of interest, reform and modernisation of the organisation and the progress of admitting Iran and Belarus to the SCO as new member states," he said.
"As you are aware, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has articulated India's priorities for the SCO chair with the theme of 'Towards a SECURE SCO'," Ravi said.
AdvertisementHe said the acronym SECURE was given by Modi at the 2018 Qingdao summit of the SCO and it will lay down the main focus areas under India's ongoing chairmanship.
SECURE stands for Security, Economic development, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and Environmental protection.
Under its SCO presidency, India has hosted more than 100 meetings and events.
India is emerging as a key player among the SCO countries, though China and Russia are seen as the major drivers of the grouping that is increasingly seen as an "alternative" to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
India is hosting the SCO conclave when its ties with China are under severe strain in view of a lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.
People familiar with the preparations for the conclave said the foreign ministers will deliberate on the overall challenges facing the region in the backdrop of the current geopolitical turmoil and the state of bilateral ties between the member nations would not impact the discussions.
The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
It was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.
India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
India has shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
