PM to attend SCO summit virtually

Move to avoid hosting regional leaders in person raises many eyebrows

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the 23rd Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) being held in video conference format on July 4.

The invitation to the prime minister to attend the SCO-CHS was extended by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in his capacity as the current Chair of the SCO, according to a PM Office statement.

At the forthcoming CHS, the highest forum of the SCO, the leaders would deliberate on important global and regional issues and chart the future direction of cooperation among SCO member states.

This year, the SCO CHS would also welcome Iran as a new member of the organisation. The prime minister's participation in the CHS illustrates the high importance that Pakistan attaches to the SCO, as an important forum for regional security and prosperity, and enhanced engagement with the region.

In a surprise move, India has decided to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit virtually in the first week of July – raising the question as to why New Delhi is avoiding hosting regional leaders in person.

India is the current president of SCO, which comprises Russia, China, Pakistan and key central Asian states. The Indian external affairs ministry had said in a statement that the summit would be held virtually on July 4.

“Under India’s first-ever Chairmanship, the 22nd Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State will be held virtually on July 4, 2023, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chair,” the Indian external affairs ministry statement had read.

No reason was given for the decision but observers believe that there may be multiple factors. One reason could be China. It was not clear whether Chinese President Xi Jinping was to travel to New Delhi in July. Both the Chinese and Russian presidents are set to attend the G20 summit in India in September too.

The other factor could be that India does not give the same importance to SCO given it is dominated by China and Russia. Nevertheless, its decision to host the summit virtually raised many eyebrows.

India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit on September 16, 2022.

The statement confirmed that all SCO member states, including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, were invited to attend the summit.

The Indian media had reported that at a time when New Delhi was engaging intensively with the West in the hope of receiving cutting edge technology, the arrival of its adversaries in the country would have complicated the matter.
Other reports, however, said as India would host these leaders in September on the occasion of the G20 summit, it would not make any difference if the SCO leaders met via video link.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited the Indian city of Goa last month to attend the SCO’s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.

“As far as the Kashmir issue, bilateral issues between Pakistan and India and the responsibilities of multilateralism are concerned, my conclusion after the trip is that it is a productive and positive decision to participate in the event,” he had later said about his trip while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.