Seven PMs to gather in Islamabad for SCO

Seven prime ministers, including from Russia and China and one vice president will attend the two-day council of heads of governments meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad.

A Foreign Office statement confirmed here on Saturday that the member states will be represented by the prime ministers of China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as the first vice president of Iran and external affairs minister of India.

The prime minister of Mongolia (observer state), along with the deputy chairman of the cabinet of ministers and the foreign minister of Turkmenistan (special guest), will also take part in the meeting.

This is the first major re gional conference Pakistan is set to host after many years.

Extraordinary security measures have been in place in the capital with the federal government announcing a three-day public holiday in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The high-level attendance from member states indicated that they were undeterred by the recent terrorist attack in Karachi that killed two Chinese engineers.

Except India, all other countries will be represented either by prime ministers or the vice president.

India and Pakistan usually attend the council of heads of governments meeting at the ministerial level since their respective prime ministers attend the heads of state meeting, the highest forum in the SCO.

Pakistan will be hosting the twenty-third meeting of the council of the heads of government (CHG) of the member states of the SCO from 15 to 16 October.

In his capacity as the current chair of the CHG, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the upcoming CHG meeting.

The prime minister will also hold important bilateral meetings with visiting heads of delegation on the sidelines of the meeting.

The statement said the CHG meeting will discuss ongoing cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, environment, and socio-cultural linkages and review the performance of the organisation.

The leaders will adopt important organisational decisions to further enhance cooperation among SCO member states and approve the budget of the organisation.

SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance, founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

It has since expanded to include India, Pakistan, and Iran as full members, with Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia as observers, and other countries as dialogue partners.

The SCO is often seen as a counterbalance to Western alliances like NATO and plays a significant role in fostering regional cooperation.