MM News

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the 23rd meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State being held in videoconference format on Tuesday, July 4.

The invitation to the prime minister to attend the SCO-CHS was extended by the Prime Minister of India in his capacity as the current Chair of the SCO, said a statement by the Foreign Office.

At the forthcoming CHS, the highest forum of the SCO, the leaders will deliberate on important global and regional issues and chart the future direction of cooperation among SCO Member States. This year, the SCO CHS will also welcome Iran as a new member of the organization.

The statement said the prime minister’s participation in the meeting illustrates the high importance that Pakistan attaches to the SCO, as an important forum for regional security and prosperity, and enhanced engagement with the region.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit on September 16 last year.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced in May that India will host the annual summit of the SCO in the virtual format on July 4. However, it did not cite reasons for holding the summit in the virtual mode.