SCO: Will there be a holiday on October 14, 15, 16?

ISLAMABAD: The federal government announced a public holiday on October 14, October 15, and October 16 within the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Rawalpindi district only due to SCO.

The three-day holiday in October was announced due to the 23^rd session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit that Pakistan is hosting this year.

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In a press release on Monday, the government issued order number 10-01/2024-Min-II via the Cabinet Secretariat announcing the public holiday due to SCO summit.

23^rd summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was founded in 2001. It started as an international organisation where its member-states could cooperate on security, economic development and cultural exchanges.

The organisation comprised eight member-states: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India. The organisation also includes several observer states and dialogue partners

Over the years, the SCO has evolved into an important platform for addressing regional issues and increasing cooperation between its member-states.

The upcoming 23^rd session of the SCO Council of the Heads of the Government is expected to tackle a wide array of issues. This ranges from regional security challenges, to economic cooperation and initiatives aimed at improving connectivity amongst its member-states.

The SCO summit to be held in Pakistan will also concentrate on combating terrorism, drug trafficking and other transnational threats that pose risk to regional stability within South and Central Asia.

Experts expect trade relation and economic partnerships to dominate the meeting’s agenda, especially in direct wake of the economic recessions most economies suffered post Covid-19 pandemic.

China, in particular, is expected to significantly promote its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), that has already improved infrastructure and connectivity across Asia with Africa and Europe for most of its economically-weaker member-states.

Meanwhile, Russia, suffering crippling sanctions by the West in wake of the Ukraine-Russia War, would be extremely interested in economic cooperation and trade partnerships

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As the capital gears up to host an extremely important international summit, the governments announcement of three-day holiday will help facilitate security measures and logistic arrangements,