Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is scheduled to visit Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit later this month, as announced by the Indian foreign ministry spokesman on Friday. This will be the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in almost a decade.
Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Indian foreign ministry, indicated that Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation to the summit of Eurasian leaders on October 15 and 16, although he did not confirm if Jaishankar would meet with any Pakistani leaders during his visit.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed that invitations to the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting had been sent to all member country heads, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch noted that some confirmations had already been received.
Last week, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved an additional Rs1 billion in funding to host the SCO Summit, scheduled for October 15-16, 2024.
The Foreign Office stated that hosting this year’s SCO summit would strengthen Pakistan’s important role as a regional nation committed to peace, dialogue, and diplomacy, while also boosting the country’s prestige for hosting such a significant event after a long break.
In 2023, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari led Pakistan’s delegation at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa on May 4-5, marking the first official visit by a senior Pakistani official to India since 2016. While Bilawal did not meet any Indian leaders, he and Jaishankar exchanged criticisms about their strained relations.
Earlier this year, Jaishankar highlighted India’s aim to tackle the enduring issue of cross-border terrorism but asserted that such issues should not dictate the behavior of a good neighbor.
