India’s External Affairs Minister Visits Pakistan Ahead of SCO Summit

TDT | Manama                                                      

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India’s Minister for External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a landmark visit, marking the first such trip in nearly a decade. His arrival coincides with the commencement of the 23rd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), set to begin later in the evening.

The SCO is an intergovernmental organization comprising China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. Additionally, 16 other countries are affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners.”

Pakistan became a full member of the SCO during its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, which was attended by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif has recently expressed hope for reviving ties with India.

As the current Chair of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to preside over the summit.

Upon his arrival, Jaishankar was received at the Nur Khan Airbase just before 3:30 PM by Ilyas Mehmood Nizami, the Director General for South Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with other Pakistani officials. The visit is seen as a significant diplomatic step amid ongoing discussions about regional cooperation and stability.