Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to visit Pakistan for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad on October 15-16.
India confirmed on August 30 that it had received an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Pakistan for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, which Pakistan will host as part of its rotating chairmanship of the council.
As the chair, Pakistan will hold the two-day SCO Heads of Government summit in person. The event will be preceded by a ministerial meeting and multiple senior officials’ meetings, focusing on financial, economic, socio-cultural, and humanitarian cooperation among SCO member states.
The SCO was established in 2001 at a summit in Shanghai by the leaders of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined the organisation as permanent members in 2017, and last year, Iran became a permanent member during a virtual summit hosted by India.
The SCO has grown into a significant trans-regional organisation, focusing on economic and security collaboration.
India hosted the previous SCO Summit virtually in 2023, with former Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif participating via video link.
