NEW DELHI, June 26. /TASS/. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in the defense sphere with his Russian counterpart, Andrey Belousov, the Indian Defense Ministry reported.

The two ministers "held productive talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation in defense between India and Russia," the Indian ministry said.

The bilateral meeting between Singh and Belousov was held on the sidelines of the SCO Defense Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao.

This year, China holds the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The organization currently has 10 member countries, namely Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with Afghanistan and Mongolia holding the observer status. Also, the SCO has 14 dialogue partners, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and the UAE.