Pakistan on Thursday said it is yet to decide on India’s invitation to Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Goa from May.
Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry spokesman says “Pakistan and India are members of the SCO. India is chairing the SCO Council of Heads of State for the period 2022-2023. These invitations are being processed as per standard procedures and a decision will be taken in due course”.
India has invited Pakistan’s foreign minister to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting to be held on May 4-5, 2023 in Goa. The SCO is an important supra-regional organization whose aim is to strengthen economic ties and cooperation between its member states in various fields. Every year, the SCO draws up a calendar of activities, which include meetings of foreign ministers.
India has formally extended invitations to all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), including Pakistan and China, for the upcoming foreign ministers’ meeting to be held in Goa from May 4-5.
The invitation includes invitations for China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang, and Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto.
India assumed the chairmanship of the 9-member mega grouping in September last year and will host key ministerial meetings and a summit this year. Relations between the two countries have been shaky for many years over issues of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, although Islamabad is pushing for the restoration of Article 370 for the former Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir for any talks.
Furthermore, FM Bilawal’s remarks at the United Nations (UN) last month against PM Modi cast a shadow over any improvement in ties between the two countries. The members of the 20-year-old organization are Russia, India, China, Pakistan and four Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Iran is the latest country to become a member and will attend the grouping’s meeting as a full member for the first time under India’s chairmanship. The last meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Samarkand, Uzbekistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The 22nd meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State is the first in-person summit since 2019. Notably, this year’s meeting of SCO foreign ministers comes amid the wake of the escalating Russia-Ukraine war and India’s G20 presidency.
