Doval likely to attend SCO NSA meet in Dushanbe next week

Indian national security advisor (NSA) is expected to attend SCO NSA meet in Tajikistan on June 23-24, which will also be attended by NSAs of Pakistan and China, raising speculations of possible standalone meetings between Doval and his Pakistani and Chinese counterparts.

The SCO NSA meet will help prepare the security and counter-terror agenda of the group in the run up to this year’s Summit. Counter-terror cooperation is a key pillar of SCO and has assumed special significance in the backdrop of ongoing developments in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan will be a key theme at this edition of SCO NSA meet amid US plans to withdraw troops. But all eyes will be on any possible meeting between Doval and Pak NSA Moeed Yusuf which could be the first big meeting since the ceasefire arrangement along the LAC. Earlier this year Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Pak counterpart were also in Dushanbe to attend the Heart of Asia meet but the two did not plan any pull aside.


What will also be closely followed is a possible meeting between Doval and his Chinese counterpart amid Beijing’s intransigence to fully disengage from the Line of Actual Control friction points.

Doval could also meet his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev on the sidelines of the SCO meet. Afghanistan is an observer of SCO and Afghan NSA Hamdullah Mohib could also meet his Indian counterpart in Dushanbe.