The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) national security advisers’ meeting will be held in Delhi on Wednesday at 10 am. China and Pakistan are likely to attend the SCO meeting virtually. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will deliver opening remarks before a meeting of SCO National Security Advisers and top national security officials.
India, the current president of the eight-member SCO, hosts a number of events. Apart from one event where Pakistan was denied entry due to a map dispute, Islamabad attended all other events, including a conference of chief justices and a meeting of energy ministers via video link.
Meanwhile, a meeting of SCO defense ministers is scheduled for April in Delhi, while foreign ministers are expected to meet in Goa in May. New Delhi has already invited Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for meetings. India has also extended an official invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for the SCO summit scheduled for July.
China’s chargé d’affaires Ma Jia said a decision was still awaited on whether the Chinese president would attend the SCO meeting as the summit date had not yet been finalized.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization established in 2001. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Founded more than 20 years ago, it is a key regional organization that aims to promote economic, political and military cooperation among its members. The organization covers more than 60% of the Eurasian landmass, 40% of the world’s population and 30% of global GDP.
