Top regional powers convene as Pakistan all set to host SCO summit

• Pakistan makes stringent arrangements for SCO summit.
• PM Shehbaz to hold bilateral meetings with visiting guests.
• Indian MEA S Jaishankar to represent PM Narendra Modi.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is all set to host the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the federal capital today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday).

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the high-level meeting, for which the South Asian nation has made stringent arrangements to ensure the event proceeds smoothly.

The meeting will see the participation of prime ministers and high-ranking officials from the SCO member states, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the First Vice President of Iran.

External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar and Premier of the State Council of China, Li Qiang, will also represent their respective countries.

The Prime Minister of Mongolia, as an observer state, along with the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan, as special guests, will also participate in the meeting.

The SCO Council of Heads of Government will discuss ongoing cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, environment, and socio-cultural linkages, and will review the organisation’s performance.

PM Shehbaz will assume the chair of the SCO Council of Chief Executives/Heads of Government today for a one-year period, as India is relinquishing it after 17 months.

He will also hold important bilateral meetings with visiting heads of delegations on the sidelines of the summit.

Indian MEA's stay

Indian Minister for External Affairs (MEA) S. Jaishankar will represent Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit. He will stay in Islamabad for about 24 hours, returning to his capital on Wednesday evening, The News reported.

Jaishankar's visit marks the first by an Indian External Affairs Minister in almost 10 years. He is expected to attend the welcome dinner, hosted by PM Shehbaz at the PM House for the delegates on Tuesday.

Both countries have ruled out the prospect of a formal bilateral meeting on this occasion, but the visiting Indian minister, like other delegates, is likely to interact with host PM Shehbaz and Deputy PM Senator Ishaq Dar, who is also his counterpart, prior to the main summit. Jaishankar has already stated that he is not travelling to Islamabad to discuss bilateral relations but to fulfil his role as a "good member" of the SCO, which comprises Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, India, and four Central Asian nations.

The last Indian External Affairs Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj in December 2015. The Indian PM has never attended the annual meeting of the Council of Heads of Government since India became a member in 2017, so Jaishankar's attendance comes as no surprise.

The Indian High Commission’s media wing told The News on Monday that it had no information about any scheduled media interaction with the EAM.