Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited China for the first time in 7 years, did manage to score a diplomatic victory for India at the SCO Summit 2025. On the concluding day of the two-day event, he stressed on India’s regional vision, underscoring the core principles of sovereignty, security, and balanced connectivity.

It was a display of bonhomie among global leaders and PM Modi’s bilateral meetings with Chinese and Russian President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, only increased his stature at a time when US President Donald Trump seems agitated with the 3 countries. This show of friendship is only set to add more fuel to the fire.

PM Modi has also recommended the creation of a Civilisational Dialogue Forum to bring to the world cultural aspects of SCO member countries. It was an eventful and lively rendezvous of the global leaders, with a lot of notable activities taking place at the SCO Summit 2025.

SCO Summit 2025: How PM Modi redefined the organization?

It is no doubt that PM Modi has a knack for coming up with crisp phrases for even the most complex terms. At the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, he said, India’s regional vision rests on three letters—S, C, O. Security. Connectivity. Opportunity.

With this, the prime minister also reiterated India’s stance on terrorism, stressing on the need for collective action against extremism. PM Modi emphasised that terrorism and separatism are major challenges to peace, prosperity and stability of any nation, and that India has been fighting the menace for the last seven decades.

“Any kind of double standard is not acceptable on the issue of terrorism. India has taken the lead in the fight against terror outfits like Al-Qaeda and its associates, and we oppose any kind of terror-financing,” he said while addressing the plenary session of the 25th SCO Heads of State Council Summit.

Pahalgam Attack: What SCO declaration said?

In his address, PM Modi thanked all friendly nations who stood with us during the tough times following the brutal Pahalgam terror attack. “The Pahalgam terror attack was not just an attack on India’s soul but an open challenge to all those countries that have faith in humanity.”

Notably, the SCO member states also condemned the attack supporting India’s position that the perpetrators of the assault must be brought to justice and that double standards are unacceptable in the fight against terrorism.

“[The SCO member states] expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the dead and the wounded. They further stated that perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice,” the joint declaration said.

SCO Summit 2025: Highlights of PM Modi’s address

Connectivity and sovereignty – The prime minister underlined the significance of connectivity projects that respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Connectivity should always respect sovereignty and territorial integrity-this is a fundamental principle of the SCO Charter. Connectivity that bypasses sovereignty loses trust and meaning.”

“India firmly believes that strong connectivity ensures not just trade, but also trust and development. That is why we are working on Chabahar and the International North-South Economic Corridor, which will enhance connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia,” he stated.

India’s SCO Presidency – Reflecting on India’s presidency of the SCO in 2023, PM Modi also spoke on our efforts to take the Organisation beyond governments. “During our presidency of the SCO in 2023, we tried to take the SCO beyond governments for the ease of common people and startups,” PM Modi said.

Russia-Ukraine conflict – PM Modi told Russian President Putin that India hoped all parties would move forward constructively in the process to establish peace in Ukraine, further confirming the Russian president’s visit to India in December this year. “We have been continuously discussing the war in Ukraine, and we welcome the recent efforts to bring about peace,” Modi said.

PM Modi-Xi Jinping meeting: What happened?

During his first China visit since 2018, PM Modi also held bilateral talks with the Chinese President. Both leaders welcomed the positive momentum and steady progress in bilateral relations since their last meeting in Kazan in October 2024. They reaffirmed that the two countries were development partners and not rivals.

The prime minister further told Xi that both countries are “victims” of terrorism and should work together to combat the “scourge” of cross-border terrorism.

Coming at a time of escalated trade tensions with the United States, PM Modi and Xi noted the need to strengthen people-to-people ties through direct flights and visa facilitation, building on the resumption of Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and tourist visa. On economic and trade relations, they recognized the role of their two economies to stabilize world trade.

PM Modi-Putin: What happened?

Meeting on the sidelines of a regional summit in China on Monday (September 1, 2025), PM Modi and Russian President Putin discussed the bilateral ties. While PM Modi termed the partnership with Moscow as “special and privileged”, Putin called PM Modi a “dear friend”, noting that Russia’s ties with India are friendly and trusting.

“Russia and India have maintained special relations for decades. Friendly, trusting. This is the foundation for the development of our relations in the future,” Putin said.

The Russian President plans to travel to India in December 2025 for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit.