ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Heads of State (CHS) in Uzbekistan on September 15-16, the Pakistani foreign office said on Tuesday, with climate change, food security and other issues on the agenda.
The gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) comprising China, Russia, four Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — India and Pakistan is due to take place in Samarkand on September 15 and 16.
The summit in Uzbekistan will not only see face-to-face talks between Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, it will be attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Besides attending the summit, the Pakistani prime minister would hold bilateral meetings with other participating leaders on the sidelines, according to the Pakistani foreign office.
“At the forthcoming CHS, the SCO leaders will deliberate on important global and regional issues, including climate change, food security, energy security, and sustainable supply chains,” the foreign office said in a statement.
“They would also approve agreements and documents that would chart the future direction of cooperation among SCO member states.”
The summit comes at a time when Pakistan is reeling from the impacts of torrential rains and floods, which experts have blamed on climate change. The floods have killed more than 1,400 people, washed away livestock and swathes of crops, and destroyed key infrastructure across the South Asian nation, where officials say the losses could go as high as $40 billion.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin hailed the significance of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, noting that it was particularly important amid tensions with the West.
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders were scheduled to meet Thursday in Samarkand.
“The meeting has a special significance in view of the current international situation,” Ushakov told reporters, saying Putin and Xi will discuss the international situation, along with regional issues and bilateral cooperation.
Founded in 2001, the SCO is a major trans-regional organization spanning South and Central Asia. The SCO member states collectively represent nearly half of the world’s population and a quarter of global economic output.
The organization’s agenda of promoting peace and stability, and seeking enhanced linkages in infrastructure, economic, trade and cultural spheres, is aligned with Pakistan’s own vision of enhancing economic connectivity as well as peace and stability in the region.
Since becoming a full member of the SCO in 2017, Pakistan has been actively contributing toward advancing the organization’s core objectives through its participation in various SCO mechanisms.
