Pakistan to host SCO national coordinators meeting from Sept 28

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the first meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of National Coordinators (CNC) under its 2026-27 chairmanship in Islamabad from September 28 to 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

Pakistan formally assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for the 2026-27 term at the organisation’s summit in Bishkek on September 1. It will host the next SCO Council of Heads of State summit in Islamabad in 2027.

The three-day meeting will be chaired by Pakistan’s SCO national coordinator and attended by national coordinators from member states as well as representatives of the SCO Secretariat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The coordinators will discuss the programme of activities under Pakistan’s chairmanship, preparations for upcoming SCO meetings and events, and other matters on the organisation’s agenda.

Under its chairmanship theme, “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity,” Pakistan has said it will focus on greater regional connectivity, innovation, economic cooperation and people-to-people contacts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier outlined priorities including information technology and artificial intelligence, energy, poverty reduction, disaster management, health, culture and sports during Pakistan’s SCO chairmanship.

The CNC meeting will contribute to preparations for various high-level engagements and activities planned during Pakistan’s chairmanship, including the Council of Heads of State summit in Islamabad in 2027, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The SCO, established in 2001, brings together China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan and India became full members in 2017, Iran joined in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.