Narendra Modi meets Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in China

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Uzbekistan President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, in Qingdao, China. PTI

Qingdao: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

"The two leaders exchanged views on a range of topics to further strengthen our strategic partnership," Indian External Affairs Minister Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Prior to this, Modi a "warm and forward looking" meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Kumar.

Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders of other SCO member states on the sidelines of the Summit.

Earlier in the day, SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov called on Modi soon after his arrival here.

"SCO Secretary General said that India is contributing greatly to the organisation since it became a full member of SCO in 2017," Kumar said in a separate tweet.

This will be the first time India will be participating in the SCO Summit after being granted full membership of the bloc, along with Pakistan, in June 2017.

The SCO is an Eurasian inter-governmental organisation, the creation of which was announced in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.

On Friday, Modi said that the SCO meeting will herald a new beginning for India's engagement with the Eurasian bloc.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates