PM Shehbaz to attend SCO virtual summit next week

• PM Shehbaz will attend 23rd meeting of SCO-CHS on July 4.
  
• Leaders will deliberate on important global, regional issues.
• PM participation illustrates high importance Pakistan attaches to SCO: FO.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the 23rd meeting of SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) being held in videoconference format on July 4, the Foreign Office said on Friday

The invitation to the prime minister to attend the SCO-CHS was extended by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in his capacity as the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), it added.

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 organisation, the communique said.

“The Prime Minister’s participation in the CHS 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 FO added.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry said that President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver a speech at a summit of the SCO via video link on July 4.

Defence and foreign ministers of the bloc attended in-person meetings in India this year.

The SCO is a political and security union of countries spanning much of Eurasia, including China, India and Russia.

Formed in 2001 by Russia, China and former Soviet states in Central Asia, the body has been expanded to include India and Pakistan, with a view to playing a bigger role as counterweight to Western influence in the region.

Kazakhstan will take over the presidency of the SCO after the July summit.

— With additional input from Reuters