India Confirms Participation in SCO Summit in Pakistan; EAM S Jaishankar to Lead Delegation

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to visit Pakistan on October 15-16 for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad.

India confirmed on August 30 that it had received an invitation from Pakistan to attend the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting.

Pakistan, currently holding the rotating chairmanship of the SCO CHG, will host the two-day summit, which will include discussions on financial, economic and socio-cultural cooperation among member nations. Prior to the summit, ministerial and senior officials’ meetings will be held.

The SCO, established in 2001 with founding members Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, has grown into a major economic and security organisation. India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017, with Iran joining last year during a virtual summit hosted by India.

India had last hosted the SCO summit virtually, which saw the participation of Pakistan’s then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif via video link.