India attends its first SCO military cooperation meeting

BEIJING: India, for the first time, took part in a meeting of the international military cooperation departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) since joining the bloc last year.

An Indian delegation led by Major General Ajay Seth participated in the meeting, which discussed issues of practical cooperation among SCO nations, an Indian Embassy press release here said.

The two-day meeting concluded on Tuesday.This is the first meeting attended by India in the field of defence cooperation under the SCO framework.India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the grouping in which China plays an influential role.

The SCO comprises of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

Officials said both India and China look to SCO as a major platform for improving bilateral ties bogged down by a host of differences, including the 73-day military standoff at Doklam last year.