ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will open the first meeting of national coordinators under its year-long chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s top decision-making body today, Monday, beginning preparations for a series of engagements that will culminate in a leaders’ summit in Islamabad next August.

The three-day meeting brings together national coordinators from the SCO’s 10 member states, who are responsible for coordinating interaction within the bloc, to set the program for Pakistan’s 2026-27 chairmanship and prepare for upcoming meetings and events.

Pakistan, which assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State this month, has said it will focus on regional connectivity, innovation, economic cooperation and people-to-people ties during its tenure.

“Pakistan would work closely with all Member States and the SCO Secretariat to advance these priorities and further strengthen cooperation within the SCO,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it aimed to translate the members’ “shared vision” into “practical and mutually beneficial initiatives.”

The Council of National Coordinators meeting will run in Islamabad from Sept. 28-30 and be chaired by Pakistan’s national coordinator for the SCO, with representatives of the organization’s secretariat also attending.

The SCO is a Eurasian political, security and economic grouping founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan and India became full members in 2017, Iran joined in 2023 and Belarus became the bloc’s 10th member in 2024.

The organization says its objectives include strengthening regional security and stability as well as promoting cooperation in areas including trade, economy, energy, transportation, technology and culture.

Its Council of Heads of State is the SCO’s highest decision-making body and meets annually to decide major issues and set priorities for the organization. The Council of National Coordinators coordinates interaction among member states and helps prepare meetings of senior SCO bodies.

Pakistan took over the 2026-27 chairmanship from Kyrgyzstan at an SCO leaders’ summit in Bishkek on Sept. 1, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the theme “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity.”

The chairmanship gives Islamabad responsibility for overseeing the SCO’s program over the coming year and hosting its next Council of Heads of State summit in August 2027.

Pakistan previously chaired the SCO Council of Heads of Government, hosting a summit of prime ministers in Islamabad in October 2024.

The foreign ministry described this week’s meeting as an “important initial engagement” under Pakistan’s chairmanship, saying it would contribute to preparations for high-level meetings and other activities over the coming year.