ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is hosting the main session of a two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Islamabad today, Wednesday, wherein leaders from SCO member states are expected to discuss trade, security and other issues of mutual interest.
The prime ministers of China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as well as Iran’s first vice president and the Indian external affairs minister are in Islamabad to attend the regional summit.
The Pakistani government has declared a three-day holiday in the federal capital of Islamabad since Monday, with schools and businesses closed to ensure security of foreign leaders attending the high-profile regional summit.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hosted a dinner in honor of the visiting foreign dignitaries, wherein he was seen greeting and shaking hands with the attendees, including Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (right) shakes hand with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as he arrives at the Jinnah Convention Center to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 16, 2024. (Government of Pakistan)
“On October 16, Prime Minister Sharif will chair the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of SCO member states and deliver the opening remarks, followed by statements from the leaders of participating countries,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
The documents reflecting outcomes of the meeting will also be signed during the session that will conclude with Sharif’s closing remarks, according to the statement.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming will share a communiqué after the concluding session.
Pakistani authorities have locked down the capital to ensure security of foreign leaders attending the SCO summit. The government has deployed troops and blocked key roads, announcing alternate routes for the residents.
Sharif met with Central Asian leaders and discussed trade, investment and regional connectivity as part of his engagements on the first day of the summit on Tuesday,
Pakistan, faced with tough economic conditions, wants to position itself as a regional trade hub and to leverage its strategic geopolitical position and enhance its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting China and Central Asia with the rest of the world.
Pakistani authorities have locked down the capital to ensure security of foreign leaders attending the SCO summit, while the government has deployed troops and blocked key roads, announcing alternate routes for the residents.
