Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek on Monday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, marking their first face-to-face meeting since the outbreak of the war in West Asia earlier this year.
The meeting comes after several telephone conversations between the two leaders during the conflict. In their latest conversation on June 30, Pezeshkian briefed PM Modi on developments in West Asia and the way forward, while the Prime Minister reiterated the need for continued efforts towards lasting peace and stability.
The two leaders had also spoken in March, with their conversations focusing on the rapidly evolving situation in West Asia. The latest face-to-face engagement is therefore expected to provide an opportunity for PM Modi and Pezeshkian to discuss the regional situation in greater detail, besides bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest.
The PM Modi-Pezeshkian meeting comes on a day of significant Russia-Iran engagement as well. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to meet Pezeshkian during the SCO gathering. Putin and the Iranian President are set to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Putin is scheduled to hold a series of bilateral meetings in Bishkek, including separate talks with PM Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pezeshkian.
The Russian President’s engagement with Pezeshkian assumes significance as Moscow seeks to deepen its strategic ties with Tehran, while both countries face sustained pressure from the West.
For India, the PM Modi-Pezeshkian meeting is particularly significant given New Delhi’s longstanding ties with Tehran and its strategic interests in the region. Iran is important to India’s connectivity plans through the Chabahar port and its wider engagement with Central Asia. The talks will also take place against the backdrop of the continuing fallout from the West Asia conflict and concerns over regional stability and freedom of navigation, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz.
