Pakistan’s status and role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) “is becoming increasingly important,” Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong said on Sunday.

“We stand ready with countries, including Pakistan, to strengthen unity and expand cooperation to join hands in creating reliable support for member states to achieve common prosperity and revitalisation,” Jiang Zaidong told Aaj News anchorperson Shaukat Piracha. His interview was aired on Rubaroo.

Pakistan is set to host a two-day SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad on October 15 and 16, with leaders from the bloc attending the event.

The SCO, which includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is a significant economic and security bloc that has become one of the largest trans-regional international organizations.

The government has already deployed army troops in the federal capital to maintain order ahead of the SCO summit.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang would also arrive in Pakistan where a MoU is expected to be signed for the reprofiling of debt related to power projects amounting to $15.4 billion under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is leading a delegation to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit with the aim of demonstrating the country’s firm support for Pakistan, the Chinese envoy said.

“… to demonstrate our firm support for unity and cooperation with Pakistan and to implement the consensus of the SCO summit to strengthen cooperation between our two countries in politics, security, economy and people-to-people exchanges,”

When asked what to expect from the summit, the Chinese ambassador the organisation has expanded from six member states to 26 countries and the Shanghai spirit has become “increasingly popular” among a number of people and countries.