Pakistan on Thursday, August 29, invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of Government meeting to be held in Islamabad in October.
Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) and in that capacity, will be hosting the two-day in-person SCO Heads of Governments Meeting.
Sources on the Indian side confirmed having received the invite. Sending an invite to all SCO members was part of the protocol for the host nation, the sources said, adding a decision on the participation was yet to be taken. “Invitations have been sent to the heads of countries to participate in the meeting, which will take place on October 15-16. An invitation has also been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly press briefing. Some countries had already confirmed participation, which would be informed in due course, she said.
About ties with India, the spokesperson said, “Pakistan does not have direct bilateral trade with India.” The Islamabad summit will be preceded by a ministerial meeting and several rounds of senior officials’ meetings focused on financial, economic, socio-cultural and humanitarian cooperation among SCO member states.