India’s S. Jaishankar, the external affairs minister, would also grace Islamabad, Pakistan with their presence during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. Spokesperson from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal confirmed to the media that this Summit is to be held on the 15th and 16th of October.
Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation to this critically important regional summit. Pakistan currently chairs the SCO Council of Heads of Government rotationally and will host a two-day summit.
The summit will basically focus on helping member countries increase cooperation in economic, financial, and cultural sectors. Before the summit, there are ministerial meetings and discussion among senior officials that aim to confine their approach towards many regional issues.
The SCO is a very important regional organization which includes India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. For years, it has immensely played the role of promoting economic cooperation and addressing security challenges in the region.
Last year, India had almost virtually hosted the SCO Summit. It was at that time that Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, joined the Summit through video link. Two countries continue to engage through the SCO platform. Recently, an SCO meeting in Goa was attended by Pakistan’s then-Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. This was the first high-level Pakistani visit to India in over ten years.
The summit, where this is going to happen, affords the two nations another chance to discuss regional issues under the SCO framework.
