Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is holding bilateral meetings with his counterparts of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO member countries in New Delhi today. During the meeting, bilateral defence-related issues and other matters of mutual interest are being discussed.<br />'' <br />''Mr Singh will chair the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting in New Delhi tomorrow. Defence Ministers of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will participate in the meeting.<br />''<br />'' India has invited Belarus and Iran, currently observers in SCO, to participate in the SCO Defence Ministers' Meeting. The Defence Minister of Pakistan would be participating virtually. The Ministers will discuss matters related to regional peace and security, counter-terrorism efforts within SCO and effective multilateralism.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">India has ancient civilisational, cultural and spiritual ties with the SCO member countries. India's membership of SCO in 2017, was, therefore, a reaffirmation of New Delhi's keenness to deepen these historic ties. India considers SCO as an important regional group to promote multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region.</span>