Ishaq Dar to lead Pakistan’s delegation at SCO meeting

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar is heading Pakistan’s delegation at the three-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers, starting today in Tianjin, China.

Dar is attending the event on the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Foreign Ministers from all SCO member countries, Pakistan, China, India, Russia, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, will take part in the meeting.

“Parties will exchange views on SCO cooperation in various fields and major international and regional issues,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Beijing on Sunday, while other foreign ministers are expected to arrive on Monday.

This will mark Belarus’s first participation in the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting as a full SCO member.

The Council of Foreign Ministers is considered the third highest forum in the SCO framework.

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During the visit, Ishaq Dar is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the event.

Last month, China hosted the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in the eastern city of Qingdao, but the gathering ended without a joint statement.

According to reports, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh declined to sign the bloc’s final communique, leading to the absence of a unified declaration.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), formed in 2001, is a regional inter-governmental body with 10 member states: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.