DPM Dar to lead Pakistan delegation at SCO CHG summit in Moscow

Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left for Moscow on Monday where he will represent the upcoming Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Foreign Office (FO) stated.

The summit, scheduled for November 17-18, comes at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Vladmirovich Mishustin.

The CHG gathering will bring together the heads of government from Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, along with the vice president of Iran and the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India.

In addition to SCO members, leaders from Mongolia, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, and Turkmenistan will also attend, joined by representatives of regional and international organisations including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

During the summit, DPM Dar will share Pakistan’s viewpoint on significant regional and global matters and discuss ways to enhance the organisation’s role for the benefit of the SCO region.

He will also engage in bilateral meetings with leaders of other member countries on the sidelines of the event.

The CHG serves as the second-highest decision-making body within the SCO, providing guidance on economic, trade, financial, connectivity, and socio-economic initiatives, including the organisation’s budget. It also adopts joint communiqué, statements and important decisions.

Earlier this year, the SCO held its summit in Tianjin, China, from August 31 to September 1.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced in September that Pakistan would host the next SCO summit, although the date for the event has not yet been confirmed.