Pakistan is set to host the twenty-third meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from October 15-16, 2024 here.

To be held at the Jinnah Convention Centre, the meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the current chair of the CHG.

What is SCO?

Established by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on June 15, 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organization aimed at strengthening multisphere cooperation, promoting peace and security, and new economic international order.

Pakistan joined the SCO in 2017 and Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch at her recent weekly press briefing, said that since then the country worked consistently and constructively to strengthen good neighbourly relations and remained committed to the purposes and principles of the SCO Charter and the values ​​of the Shanghai Spirit.

The supreme decision-making body of the SCO is the Council of Heads of States (CHS) which meets annually and decides upon all the important issues of the Organization.

What is SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG)?

The Council of Heads of Government is the second highest forum within the SCO, with a primary focus on fostering cooperation among member states in socio-economic, trade, and financial sectors.

The Council meets once a year to discuss the strategy of multilateral cooperation and priority areas within the Organization, determine fundamental and topical issues in economic and other spheres, and approve the budget of the SCO.

The previous meeting of the SCO CHG was held in Bishkek on October 26, 2023 and Pakistan was represented by that time Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani.

In the said meeting, Pakistan had also assumed the rotating Chair of the Council of Heads of Government from 2023 to 2024.

Who is attending SCO CHG in Islamabad?

The SCO CHG meeting being held in Islamabad is expected to be participated by leadsers from SCO states including Prime Ministers of China Li Qiang, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov, Prime Minister of Tajikistan Kokhir Rasulzoda, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, First Iranian Vice President Mohammadreza Aref, and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Other participants include Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai as an Observer and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Ministers of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov as a Special Guest.

The representatives of international organizations including the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures In Asia (CICA), the Commonwealth of Independent States and the European Economic Community are also expected to attend the moot.