Pakistan to host SCO members, including India, at October conference in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council of Heads of Government meeting in October this year and invite all members, including India, to attend the gathering in person in Islamabad, the foreign office spokesperson said on Thursday.
Founded by China and Russia in 2001, the SCO is a prominent Eurasian entity focused on political, economic, international security and defense matters.
It is the world’s largest regional organization by geographic coverage and population, encompassing about 80 percent of Eurasia and 40 percent of the world population.
Pakistan became an SCO member in June 2017, after holding observer status from 2005 to 2017.
“The year 2024 is an important milestone for Pakistan-SCO relations, as Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, which is the second highest decision-making forum of the SCO,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the foreign office spokesperson, informed during her weekly media briefing.
“In that capacity, Pakistan will host the SCO Heads of Government meeting in October this year,” she added.
Baloch said the October conference would be preceded by a ministerial meeting and several rounds of high-level official talks among SCO member states, focusing on financial, economic, social, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
She added the conference would be held as per the SCO procedures and in-person attendance of heads of government.
“So, in our capacity as the chair, we will be extending invitations to all heads of government of SCO member states,” she added.
Baloch hoped all members of the regional grouping would be represented at the conference, which is expected to focus on trade, investment and economic connectivity.
Pakistan’s nuclear-armed neighbor, India, is also part of the SCO. The two countries have a history of strained relations and have fought several wars and border skirmishes since their independence in 1947.
India boycotted the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 2016, which was scheduled to be held in Islamabad.