Islamabad: On the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend a virtual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on July 4, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated on Friday.
In a statement, it was stated that Sharif’s attendance at the summit demonstrated Pakistan’s high regard for the SCO, a crucial platform for regional security and development and increased involvement with the area.
It stated that Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, would take part in the 23rd meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS), which would be held by video conference on July 4, 2023.
The Prime Minister of India conveyed the invitation to the Prime Minister to attend the SCO-CHS in his capacity as the current Chair of the SCO,” the statement said.
At the summit, 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, it said.
The presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan established the SCO at a conference in Shanghai in 2001. In 2017, Pakistan and India were admitted as permanent members.
On September 16 of last year, at the Samarkand Summit, India took over as the SCO’s rotating chairman.
India will host the SCO summit in an online mode on July 4 as stated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in May. It did not, however, provide justification for convening the summit virtually.
(This story has not been edited by Bharat Express staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)