Pakistan to host SCO council meet in Oct, invite all members including India

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan

foreign ministry’s spokesperson said on Thursday that her country will

host

the meeting of

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

’s council of heads of govt in Oct and invite all members, including India, to attend the gathering in person in Islamabad.
“The year 2024 is an important milestone for Pakistan-SCO relations, as Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO council of heads of govt, which is the second highest decision-making forum of SCO,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during her weekly media briefing.

Pakistan became an SCO member in June 2017, after holding observer status from 2005 to 2017.
Baloch said the Oct 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. “The conference would be held as per the SCO procedures and in-person attendance of heads of govt,” she said.

“So, in our capacity as the chair, we will be extending invitations to all heads of govt of SCO member states,” she added.
The spokesperson hoped all members of the regional grouping would be represented at the conference, which is expected to focus on trade, investment and economic connectivity.