FM Qureshi to leave for Moscow to attend SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will depart for Moscow to attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers that will be held on 9-10 September 2020.

According to the Foreign Office’s statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the chair of the meeting, extended the invitation to the foreign minister.

The SCO-CFM is the highest forum of SCO after the Council of Heads of State (CHS) and the Council of Heads of Government (CHG), the statement said, adding that it deliberates on important regional and international issues and considers documents for approval and adoption by the Council of Heads of State.

“The Moscow SCO-CFM will consider more than 20 documents for subsequent adoption in the SCO Council of Heads of State. It will also adopt a Joint Communiqué reflecting member states’ unified stance on important regional and international issues,” the statement said.

The foreign minister will also have bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the CFM.

SCO’s major objectives include promoting confidence and good-neighbourly relations among member states; strengthening regional peace, security, and stability; and creating a framework for effective cooperation in political, cultural, trade and economy, science and technology, education, energy, transportation, tourism, environmental protection, among other fields.

Besides Pakistan, SCO’s current membership comprises China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

“SCO is an important forum for further enriching our deep-rooted historical and cultural links with member states, providing these ties a sound economic foundation, and promoting Pakistan as a regional trade and transit corridor,” the statement noted.

Since becoming a member in 2017, Pakistan has been “actively” contributing to working towards achieving SCO’s multi-sectoral agenda through participation in various SCO mechanisms.

From 2005 to 2017, Pakistan was an Observer in SCO, the Foreign Office added.