India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met Aleksandr Venediktov, Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, on Tuesday in Beijing during the 20th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Security Council Secretaries.

The Indian Embassy in China posted on X, “H.E. Aleksandr Venediktov, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, called on NSA Shri Ajit Doval today on the sidelines of the 20th Meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries in Beijing.”

This high-level engagement comes amid multilateral discussions on regional security, counter-terrorism, and stability among SCO member states.

A day earlier, NSA Doval also held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the two leaders reviewed recent developments in India-China relations and explored ways to strengthen cooperation.

Both sides emphasized the importance of increasing people-to-people exchanges and collaboration in various sectors. The MEA noted that Doval expressed interest in hosting Wang Yi in India soon for the 24th round of the Special Representative Talks on border and strategic issues.

In another development, India has advocated for the inclusion of a reference to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in SCO summit documents, reinforcing its call for unified action against terrorism.

The SCO, founded in 2001, includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. It focuses on regional security, economic cooperation, and connectivity.