Prime ministers and dignitaries will start arriving today for the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting, which is all set to begin on Tuesday at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad.
Seven prime ministers, a vice president and a foreign minister are leading their respective delegations to the moot. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin are expected to reach Islamabad today. Prime Ministers Roman Golovchenko of Belarus, Olzhas Bektenov of Kazakhstan, Akylbek Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Kokhir Rasulzoda of Tajikistan, and Abdulla Aripov of Uzbekistan will also participate.
Iran’s First Vice President Mohammadreza Aref and India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar are also set to attend the event. On the other hand, Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai will participate as an observer, while Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov will join as special guest.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair the meeting, while bilateral meetings with visiting leaders are also scheduled on the sidelines of the summit. The meeting will review ongoing cooperation in trade, environment, and socio-cultural initiatives among member states. Decisions aimed at strengthening relations within the SCO will be adopted.
Pakistan has been preparing to host this major regional event for months, with strict security measures in place across Islamabad and Rawalpindi. To ensure public safety, the federal government has declared a three-day public holiday in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, starting today. The decision was made to minimize disruptions during the summit.
Chinese Premier Li will stay for four days. He is expected to hold talks with Pakistan’s civil leadership and high-ranking military officials. He will also meet President Asif Ali Zardari and parliamentary leaders during his stay. According to reports, the bilateral talks will focus on development initiatives, especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the security of Chinese officials and engineers working on various projects in Pakistan.
In the aftermath of recent attacks on Chinese nationals, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured the Chinese leadership that Pakistan is committed to ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals working in the country. While the main reason for the foreign dignitaries’ arrival is participation in the summit, all eyes will be on the outcomes of the bilateral meetings and steps taken to further strengthen cooperation within the SCO framework.
It may be mentioned here that the organization was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and four Central Asian countries to promote regional cooperation, but countries like Pakistan, India and Iran were later made part of the group. On the other hand, Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia are acting as observers.