India has become the fifth largest economy of the world surpassing the UK. As India moves forward to become the new manufacturing hub of the world, it is most unlikely that SCO will be able to become a forum for regional peace and economic cooperation. China, it seems, will use all means available to sabotage India.

India’s economic growth is led by the desire to meet the needs of both its population and wider world. China’s economic growth, on the other hand, is driven by imperialistic economic expansionism driven by greed.

Mr Modi’s advice to Putin that this was the era of peace is the key approach to achieve regional peace which in turn is vital for the region.

However, for this to happen the member countries of the SCO will have to strike a balance between need and greed. For now, it seems it will take quite some time before the current conflict between need and greed will resolve itself.

—Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and a human rights activist from Mirpur in PoJK. He currently lies in exile in the UK.