Putin, Xi, and Iranian leadership attend Nomad Games opening ceremony.

By Robbert Wijtman

 

 

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, August 31 - The Shanghai Cooperation Group plans to attend the opening ceremony of the sixth Nomad Games in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Russian, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Iranian, and Belarusian leaders were in attendance.

 

Around a dozen heads of state are in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The group brings together Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian countries and Moscow-allied Belarus. Putin, Xi, Pezeshkian from Iran, as well as India's Narendra Modi and Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif are due to take part in a plenary session chaired by Kyrgyz leader Sadyr Japarov.  On top of its 10 members, it now has 15 "dialogue partners", including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It also has two observer countries: Afghanistan and Mongolia.  While the bloc claims to represent some 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of global GDP, it remains diverse, with some disagreements among members. Russia and China compete for influence in Central Asia -- a resource-rich region crucial for the transport of goods between Europe and Asia -- while Beijing at times has had strained relations with India and Pakistan.

Kyrgyz leader Sadyr Japarov has invited all of them to attend the opening...      Link to rest of the article