Invitation includes invitations to new Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto.
India took over the presidency of the nine-member supergroup last September and will host key ministerial meetings and summits this year.
“So far, there has been no confirmation from Pakistan on whether Foreign Minister Bilawal will attend the meeting,” the sources said.
Pakistan is not participating in the SCO Film Festival to be held in Mumbai later this month. While all countries submitted films, Pakistan was the only country that did not submit any films for screening in the group’s third film festival. “Only one SCO member state, no registration received, no response,” Neerja Shekar, additional secretary, I&B, said Monday at a press conference.
Relations between the two countries have been strained over the past several years over issues of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, even as Islamabad called for the restoration of Section 370 for the former Indian state of Jammu- and Kashmir. Degree for any negotiation.
Furthermore, FM Bilawal’s speech at the United Nations (UN) last month about Prime Minister Modi cast a shadow over any improvement in relations between the two countries.
The organization has been in existence for 20 years and has members from Russia, India, China, Pakistan and four Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Iran is the latest country to join and under the chairmanship of India will attend the group’s meeting for the first time as a full member.
The last meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Samarkand in Uzbekistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The 22nd session of the SCO Council of Heads of State is the first face-to-face summit since 2019. cooperation with major economies in the region
Prime Minister Modi promoted transit rights at the summit to facilitate stronger supply chains through improved connectivity; In the past, India has struggled to access Central Asian markets without transit rights through Pakistani territory.
The importance of the SCO for India lies in the economic and geopolitical aspects of the Eurasian countries.
SCO is a potential platform to advance India’s Central Asian Connectivity policy.
SCO member states occupy vast swathes of land adjacent to the extended vicinity of India, where India has pressing economic and security requirements.
Importance of the SCO-Afghan liaison group for stabilizing Afghanistan. SCO membership gives India an important counterweight to several other groups of which India is a part. The SCO provides a unique multilateral platform for India to deal with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
