SCO meet in Goa: Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto has reached Goa in a charted plane to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers meeting scheduled to be held on Friday. This is the first time in several years that a senior Pakistani minister is visiting the country to attend an international summit. Bhutto will lead the Pakistani delegation at the SCO meeting.
Ahead of the visit, Bilawala Bhutto said that Pakistan was looking forward for this important meeting.
During a weekly press conference last week, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated that Bhutto is attending the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting at the invitation of India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
"Our participation at the meeting reflects Pakistan's continued commitment to the SCO charter and process and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities," the spokesperson said.
Bhutto will be the first Pakistani Foreign Minister to visit India after a gap of nearly 12 years. In 2011, then Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had visited India.
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Will there be a bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Bhutto?
However, the spotlight is expected to be also on whether there will be a bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Bhutto on the sidelines of the SCO conclave.
People familiar with the preparations for the conclave said Jaishankar will hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from China, Russia and some other member nations of the grouping. The bilateral talks with Qin and Lavrov are likely to take place at a beach resort in Benaulim on Thursday. But there is no indication yet of such a meeting between Jaishankar and Bhutto-Zardari.
EAM Jaishankar takes stock of preparations
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Jaishankar reached Goa to inspect the preparations for India's presidency of the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting. India took over the rotating presidency of the SCO at the Samarkand SCO Summit in 2022. This year India is hosting several important SCO meetings including the Foreign Ministers' meeting in Goa from May 4-5.
Notably, India had sent formal invitations to all SCO members and the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Russia have confirmed their participation in the meeting. On its Foreign Minister's visit to India, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that at the meeting Qin Gang will exchange views with other SCO member states' foreign ministers on the international and regional situation.
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Russia's Foreign Minister to also attend
Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov will also take part in the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting on May 4. Regarding the same, the Russian Embassy in India said, "On May 4-5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in India." A Russian official release said that deliberation over "topical issues of the international and regional agenda" will also be raised by Foreign Minister Lavrov.
About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
It is worth mentioning here that Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was formed in 2001. Its members include India, Russia, China, Pakistan, and four central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017. India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
(With inputs from agencies)
