Speculations are rife after India's sudden change of plans to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in person, and move to the virtual format, analyst Kamran Yousaf said on Wednesday.
In a statement on Tuesday, Indian external affairs ministry said that the summit will be held virtually on July 4. New Delhi is the current president of SCO, that comprises Russia, China, Pakistan and other key central Asian states.
Speaking about the shock move in a podcast, Yousaf said that there are possibly multiple reasons to the development.
He added that some quarters in India feared that Islamabad's participation would overshadow the summit like it did in Goa.
After the SCO foreign ministers' huddle, participation of FM Bilawal Bhutto, and not the summit, became the topic of the discussion, he said.
But a number of Indian journalists disagree with this stance, saying New Delhi changed plans in view of the another SCO meet scheduled for September, according to Yousaf.
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A third possible factor was the uncertainty surrounding the participation of Russia and China in the July huddle.
"If they hadn't participated in the meeting, it would have been embarrassing for India," the analyst said.
Yousaf said that the development should also be seen in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forthcoming visit to US in the third week of June.
"Apart from the cutting-edge tech that New Delhi wants from the US, it could not afford to host Moscow or Beijing, especially in view of the persistent border disputes with the latter," he said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Indian external affairs ministry said that the summit will be held virtually on July 4. New Delhi is the current president of SCO, that comprises Russia, China, Pakistan and other key central Asian states.
Speaking about the shock move in a podcast, Yousaf said that there are possibly multiple reasons to the development.
He added that some quarters in India feared that Islamabad's participation would overshadow the summit like it did in Goa.
After the SCO foreign ministers' huddle, participation of FM Bilawal Bhutto, and not the summit, became the topic of the discussion, he said.
The development should also be seen in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to US in the third week of June. Apart from the cutting edge-tech that India wants from the US, it can't afford to host Russia or China, especially the latter in view of the persistent border disputes.
But a number of Indian journalists disagree with this stance, saying New Delhi changed plans in view of the another SCO meet scheduled for September, according to Yousaf.
Read this too: Unveiling Hidden Realities: G20 Summit In Kashmir Amidst Controversy
A third possible factor was the uncertainty surrounding the participation of Russia and China in the July huddle.
"If they hadn't participated in the meeting, it would have been embarrassing for India," the analyst said.
Yousaf said that the development should also be seen in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forthcoming visit to US in the third week of June.
"Apart from the cutting-edge tech that New Delhi wants from the US, it could not afford to host Moscow or Beijing, especially in view of the persistent border disputes with the latter," he said.