The group winners will qualify for the 12-team final tournament in China next year.
India and Central Asian nations agree to collaborate with Afghanistan on security challenges amid escalating tensions with Pakistan. The discussions took place at the third India-Central Asia meeting of top security officials in Bishkek.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting, advocating for a 'zero tolerance' approach to terrorism and emphasizing the need for the SCO to adapt to the changing global landscape.
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'It is a matter of great pride for India to be among the hosts of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers, and I am particularly pleased to see Ahmedabad take centre stage.
Since June, India's ministry of external affairs has intensified its diplomatic calendar, hosting several heads of state and government, foreign ministers, and key trade delegations.
Each team will play six matches, and the one with the most points will be crowned champion.
'Yes, this is an away game against a good team, but we have to prepare accordingly and think only of one thing -- a positive result.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Japan and China starting around August 29. The visit to China would be his first after the Ladakh border standoff.
China welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), expressing hope that the event will be a 'gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results'.
Qatar, the highest-seeded team among the four, will host Group H, with the matches slated to be played between September 1 to 9.
Jaishankar said the UN Security Council condemned the attack and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of the reprehensible act and bring them to justice.
The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.
Last week, India asked its students in Bishkek to stay indoors following the incidents of violence.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India next week to attend the meeting of G20 foreign ministers and meet senior Indian officials to reaffirm America's strong partnership with the country.
The conference on 'SCO Armed Forces Contribution in Military Medicine, Healthcare and Pandemics' was to be attended by a Pakistani delegation.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Saturday, October 7.
Modi, in a statement before his two-day visit to Bishkek from June 13-14, said that on the sidelines of the SCO Summit, he also plans to meet several leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
India head coach Igor Stimac feels this may be the final season of talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri's career.
Though the two-day SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting began at the Taj Exotica Resort in Benaulim on Thursday evening with a reception hosted by Jaishankar, the main deliberations took place on Friday.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his counterparts from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are also attending the meeting to be chaired by Rajnath Singh.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and the cases rising, this would be the second year in a row when there would be no foreign leader as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
It would be the highest level visit to India by any Pakistani leader in recent years and a possible opportunity to break the ice between the two nations.
Except for Pakistan, the defence ministers of all other member countries attended the meeting in person. It is learnt that the Pakistani representative joined the deliberations virtually.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif will attend the SCO defence ministers' meeting in New Delhi on Friday through virtual mode, according to an official readout.
The Indian men's team currently occupies the 18th spot among countries under the Asian Football Confederation, while the women's side is ranked 11th.
It will be Putin's first participation in a multilateral summit after a mercenary group launched a short-lived armed rebellion last week that rocked Moscow.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the SCO defence ministerial conclave in Delhi, people familiar with the matter said.
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Last year's Republic Day parade took place amid the Covid pandemic and close to 25,000 people were allowed to attend it, sources mentioned.
Modi is visiting Uzbekistan at the invitation of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
If the Pakistani foreign minister attends the meeting in person, it will be the first such visit from Islamabad to India since 2011.
Sunil Chhetri will be the cynosure of all eyes as the Blue Tigers look to regain the Intercontinental Cup
China said that it would not attend the security dialogue on Afghanistan convened by India due to "scheduling reasons".
President of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is the current Chair of the SCO, and the PM of Mauritius, who was the chief guest at this year's Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, have also been invited, the MEA said.
The minister also rejected Gandhi's allegation that the Narendra Modi government brought Pakistan and China together.
At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping and PM Shehbaz Sharif will attend via video conference, the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads meeting of the SCO on July 4.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Counter-terrorism experts from India, Pakistan and other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on Monday deliberated on boosting cooperation in combating various regional security challenges at a meeting hosted by New Delhi.
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