Key Points

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, Awwad, while speaking to IANS, said it is significant as it comes after a seven-year hiatus and following the clashes in the Himalayas.

Citing late Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh's assertion that "both the countries can be good neighbours and can be trusted", the expert said there has to be a breakthrough on issues concerning border areas.

Pointing out that the meeting is also a confidence-building measure, he said that he hopes a lot of decisions will be taken.

The meeting of the three giants, India, China and Russia 'troika' will revolve around new American tariffs, security threats and challenges to boost India's economy.

On PM Modi scheduled to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said US President Donald Trump has imposed an increased 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil while ignoring China and the European Union for buying the energy from Moscow.

Highlighting the significance of the meeting with Putin, he said it is important to "strengthen and restate" the importance of the bilateral relations between the two nations. There is no other country in the world other than Russia which has been trustworthy to India.

"It is a very important meeting on a bilateral level and in the international arena as India and Russia have joined hands on many international platforms and have a similar stance on many issues," he said.

Speaking on the terrorism issue, he said, "At the SCO, India wants its voice to be heard, and this summit has to address India's concerns on terrorism."

He also mentioned that SCO was formed to deal with terrorism.

On Trump dialling PM Modi, but the latter not entertaining him, Awwad said he has no confirmation from India on the matter, but if it's true, it is an indication of India's stance against the increased tariff and attempt to weaken the Indian economy.

Sharing that Trump has indicated that he will not attend the QUAD meeting, scheduled to be held in India, he said the US-India relationship is at its lowest level, and both leaders should resolve it before it goes down.

- IANS