New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar shall travel to Pakistan to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in mid-October. The announcement was made by Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson to the External Affairs Ministry.
Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16. “The external affairs minister will lead our delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16,” Mr Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
Defence expert Robinder Sachdev commented on India’s fresh stance. He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision of not to participate already signals the ‘downgrading’ of India’s involvement.
Jaishankar’s visit comes at a time when India is in a strained relationship with neighbour Pakistan over long-running cross-border terrorism, the EAM’s participation will ensure that New Delhi clearly communicates its position.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a permanent intergovernmental international organization established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
Its predecessor was the mechanism of the Shanghai Five. Currently, the SCO countries include nine Member States – India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The SCO has 14 Dialogue Partners – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Sri Lanka. In 2020, when India hosted the SCO head of government level meeting virtually during Covid-19, Pakistan was represented by Pakistan’s Parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs.
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