ISLAMABAD: The prime minister will attend a summit of the regional security bloc Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) later this week, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Shehbaz Sharif will attend the meeting of the Council of Heads of State (CHS) of the bloc on the invitation of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, president of Uzbekistan who would chair the meeting.
The statement said Sharif will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit during a two-day visit to Uzbekistan, which is hosting the event, from September 15.
“The CHS is the highest forum of the SCO, which considers and defines the strategy, prospects and priorities of the organisation. At the forthcoming CHS, the SCO leaders will deliberate on important global and regional issues, including climate change, food security energy security, and sustainable supply chains,” the Foreign Office said.
“They would also approve agreements and documents that would chart the future direction of cooperation among SCO member states.”
Leaders of China, Russia, India and Iran are all expected to attend what will be the SCO’s 22nd meeting. However, it wasn’t immediately clear if Sharif and Modi will hold an in-person meeting.
The security bloc was launched in 2001 to combat a variety of security concerns. The group initially consisted of China, Russia and four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, before Pakistan and India joined in 2017.
It also includes Kazakhstan and other Asian nations.
The statement recalled that since becoming a full member of the body, Pakistan has been actively contributing to advancing the organisation’s core objectives through its participation in various SCO mechanisms.
