PM Modi Leads India’s Multipolar Push at SCO Summit in Tianjin
By Global Leaders Insights Team | Sep 17, 2025
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, bolstering India’s strategic outreach amid rising global challenges, including debilitating U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Key Highlights
- SCO’s Tianjin Declaration for first time explicitly condemned Pahalgam terror attack, emphasizing no double-standards.
- Modi emphasized multipolarity, connectivity & opportunity, pushing trade diversification amidst global tariff tensions.
India’s diplomatic efforts at the summit secured the inclusion of the Pahalgam terror attacks in the joint statement, while Modi also advanced India’s vision of multipolarity and people-centric cooperation. He emphasized India’s push to diversify trade through stronger ties with Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Australia, alongside currency exchange arrangements with BRICS nations.
Highlighting India’s chairmanship of the SCO in 2023, Modi stressed innovation, start-ups, digital inclusion, youth, and heritage as priorities, contrasting India’s democratic, transparent model with state-led approaches. He also reiterated India’s call for reforms in global institutions like the UN Security Council.
Terrorism and sovereignty remained central issues. PM Narendra Modi condemned open support for terrorism, a veiled reference to Pakistan, and criticized China’s double standards on Kashmir. He also raised concerns about connectivity projects bypassing sovereignty, indirectly targeting China’s CPEC projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Also Read: US-India Ties Strain as Modi Strengthens China, Russia Bonds
Despite geopolitical headwinds, India used the SCO platform to strengthen its role as a constructive, democratic, and multipolar voice.
