SCO Summit Updates: Participants Sign More Than 40 Agreements, Adopt Samarkand Declaration

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi said he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday about bilateral cooperation in a wide range of industries, from energy and trade to defense.

"Had a wonderful meeting with President Putin. We got the opportunity to discuss furthering India-Russia cooperation in sectors such as trade, energy, defence and more. We also discussed other bilateral and global issues," he said on social media.

The leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The gathering in the Uzbek city of Samarkand brought together heads of state and government from Russia, India, China, Turkey and Central Asia.

Russian economic operators have received a signal that they could export food products through Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand.

"I would like to inform you that our economic operators have received appropriate signals that they can also export our products through Turkey — I mean that Turkey is a reliable partner in this regard and can ensure reliable deliveries through its territory to all countries of the world, including to the countries of Asia, Latin America, Africa, since we mainly sell there," Putin said during the meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that hopefully Ukrainian grain will reach poor countries but this is not happening at the moment.

“Let's hope, indeed, that a significant part of it [grain], while this has not been achieved so far, will still go through the UN food program for the poorest countries,” Putin said during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Samarkand.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Friday to discuss topical global and regional agenda.

The SCO summit is being held in the Uzbek city of Samarkand from September 15-16. The event is attended by leaders of SCO member states, observer states and other invited guests.

Amirabdollahian and DiCarlo discussed the situation in Yemen, Afghanistan and Ukraine, also touching upon the issue of negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

The nuclear deal was sealed in 2015 by China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. The US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, to which the latter responded by gradually dropping its own obligations under the deal. The two started talks on JCPOA revival after the change of power in the White House.

Iran is formally an observer country to the SCO. On Thursday, it signed a memorandum on commitment to full SCO membership.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is ready to work with other countries to ensure food security at the regional and global levels, the heads of SCO member states said in a joint statement.

"We express our readiness to continue to work jointly with other countries to ensure food security at the regional and global levels," the statement says.

The SCO leaders also noted the need to respect and guarantee the right of all states to energy security and the right of their people to use the services of the energy industry, adding that the achievement of energy security is the basis for ensuring economic development, social stability, national security and welfare of all countries of the world.

In addition, they called for the formation of a fair global energy resources management system and assistance to countries in need, the document read.

The member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) plan to develop a single list of terrorist, separatist and extremist organizations, according to the Samarkand declaration signed on Friday.

"In accordance with their national laws and on the basis of consensus, the member states will strive to develop common principles and approaches to the formation of a single list of terrorist, separatist and extremist organizations whose activities are prohibited on the territories of the SCO member states," the document read.