Modi arrives in Tashkent, to meet Chinese President today over NSG issue

The meeting with Xi Jinping will be held in the afternoon, around the same time when the plenary of the NSG starts discussion on the application of India’s entry into the group at Seoul, South Korea.

After meeting with  Xi, Modi  will call on Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

 The expert-level sessions in Seoul over the last two days have reportedly discussed the membership issue before the two-day plenary session beginning on Thursday.

In what transpired as a Chinese move to block India's NSG membership, the country has maintained that membership issue has not been on the agenda of the session. It has also argued that if India, being a non-NPT country is allowed to be an NSG member, then Pakistan should also be let in.

However, throwing its weight behind India, the US has called upon other NSG countries to support India's stake for membership. 

Emphasising that India’s entry into the four multilateral export control regimes, including NSG, will “bolster international efforts on combating proliferation”, the French foreign ministry on Wednesday called on the members to “take a positive decision”.

Earlier, the crucial high-level financial dialogue which was to be held between India and China in Beijing on June 27 has been postponed, reports said.