Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will skip the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will represent India instead. Modi plans to visit Russia from July 8-9, his first visit there in nearly five years, followed by a trip to Austria. The SCO summit, scheduled for July 3-4, will address regional security, the situation in Afghanistan, and the Ukraine conflict. The SCO includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, and Central Asian nations. Modi expressed support for the summit to Kazakhstan’s President, as Kazakhstan chairs the meeting this year. India became a full SCO member in 2017.