Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday afternoon left for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to attend the 19th summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He is expected to hold meetings with Chinese and Russian presidents on the sidelines of the summit.
Imran Khan is accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Special Assistant Usman Dar at Council of the Heads of State of SCO on June 13-14.
The prime minister will address two sessions of the SCO summit, which will be attended by leaders of SCO members and observer states including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Gani.
Talking to media before leaving for Bishkek, Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi said that Imran Khan would be meeting and holding discussion with leadership of the regional countries. “The main objective of the summit is to improve collaboration to strengthen the economic and security situation of the region,” Qureshi said. Several decisions are expected to be approved by the leaders attending the meeting, besides signing agreements to intensify cooperation in diverse fields.
Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, who would chair the Council of the Heads of State (CHS) meeting, extended the invitation to the Pakistani premier. Earlier, Qureshi had attended the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bishkek last month.
“Pakistan shares deep-rooted historical and cultural links with SCO member states. SCO’s multi-sectoral cooperation agenda is in line with Pakistan government’s policy of promoting regional peace and stability and seeking enhanced linkages in infrastructure, economic, trade and cultural spheres,” according to a statement by Foreign Office.
The SCO is a China-led eight-member economic and security bloc comprising Pakistan, China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. SCO Observers include Afghanistan, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia.
Since becoming an SCO member in 2017, Pakistan has been actively participating in various SCO events, including foreign affairs, defence, national security, economy and trade, science and innovation, youth and women empowerment, tourism and media.
No Imran-Modi meeting
Analysts anticipated an ice-breaking meeting between prime ministers of Pakistan and India at the SCO meeting. However, India’s Foreign Ministry clarified that there is no bilateral meeting planned between the two PMs.
On Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided flying over Pakistan to reach Bishkek even though Pakistan had granted overflight access since its airspace remains closed after the relations with India worsened in February.
Last month, foreign ministers of the two South Asian neighbours shook hands and discussed matters of mutual interest during an informal interaction on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Kyrgyzstan, indicating slight de-escalation in tensions. “We’ve however reiterated our desire for a peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues between the two countries,” Qureshi had said.
