PM Modi will fly to the Uzbek city of Samarkand on Thursday for a summit of the regional security group known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which will also be attended by Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will come face-to-face on Friday for the first time since deadly border clashes in 2020 frayed ties between the Asian rivals, according to Reuters report.

The development comes after friction points were created in May 2020 when the Chinese army showed aggression and tried to unilaterally change the status quo on the LAC but the Indian security establishment retaliated strongly and thwarted the Chinese attempts, as per news agency ANI report.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to fly down to the Uzbek city of Samarkand on Thursday for a summit of the regional security group known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The summit will be attended by Chinese President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Reuters report said.

As per official statement shared by the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday, “at the SCO summit, I look forward to exchanging views on topical, regional and international issues, the expansion of SCO and on further deepening of multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation within the organisation." The statement further informed that “under the Uzbek Chairship, a number of decisions for mutual cooperation are likely to be adopted in areas of trade, economy, culture and tourism."

Meanwhile, earlier this week on Tuesday, India and China resolved the last remaining friction point on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) created post-May 2020 as troops from both countries pulled back from their respective positions in the Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area, according news agency ANI report.

"Armies of India and China today completed the disengagement process in Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area near Patrolling Point-15 in eastern Ladakh sector. The two sides have also completed verification of each other's positions after pulling back troops from friction point," government sources said.

Additionally, India's foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra told a news conference on Thursday that Modi would have bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit on Friday but declined to confirm a one-on-one with Xi. China has also not confirmed a meeting between the two leaders. The SCO's permanent members are China, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.