Full Breakdown
India Sends SCO Delegation to Islamabad as Pakistan Begins Chairmanship
By Drooid · · How we work
Event Overview
From September 28-30, 2024, India’s national coordinator for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Joint Secretary Alok Dimri, led an Indian delegation to Islamabad for the three-day Council of National Coordinators meeting. The gathering is the first SCO coordination session under Pakistan’s 2026-27 chairmanship and will shape the agenda for the Council of Heads of State summit scheduled for August 2027 in Islamabad.
Background and Recent Engagements
Pakistan formally assumed the rotating SCO chairmanship from Kyrgyzstan on September 1, 2024. Earlier in October, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar headed an Indian delegation to Islamabad for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting on October 15-16, marking the first such high-level visit since the brief 2023 India-Pakistan clash. In the same month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, underscoring continued multilateral participation despite bilateral tensions.
Key Participants
- Alok Dimri – Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (Multilateral Economic Relations) and India’s SCO national coordinator.
- S Jaishankar – External Affairs Minister of India, who led the October delegation.
- Mohammad Faisal – Pakistan’s National Coordinator, chairing the current meeting.
- Pakistan’s foreign minister – outlined the meeting’s scope (see below).
Agenda and Preparations
** with priorities on regional connectivity, innovation, economic cooperation and people-to-people contacts. Delegates will also coordinate the calendar of ministerial-level meetings and logistical arrangements for the 2027 summit, such as venues, security and transport.
Significance
The meeting represents a notable re-engagement of senior Indian officials in Pakistan, described by the Indian Express as the first visit of this seniority in about a year and a half. By participating in SCO mechanisms, India and Pakistan continue to address security, economic and connectivity issues within a multilateral framework, even as bilateral relations remain strained. The outcomes will influence the schedule and focus of SCO activities leading up to the 2027 heads-of-state summit in Islamabad.