Pakistan confirms its presence in SCO virtual summit next month

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 23 : In a weekly briefing on Thursday, Pakistan confirmed its presence in the virtual meeting of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that is going to be held on July 4.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked whether the Prime Minister will participate in the virtual event which is due in the month of July in India.

Following the question she said, "We have received the official invitation from the Indian Prime Minister for our Prime Minister for the virtual meeting of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that is due to take place on the 4th of July."

"Pakistan will be represented at the summit. We will be making an announcement regarding our participation in the coming days," she added.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State is all set to take place in July. It will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual format, according to the statement released by SCO.

Under India's leadership, the SCO Council of Heads of State will be held in a virtual format on July 4, 2023.

"The theme of the Summit is 'Towards a SECURE SCO'. The SECURE acronym was coined by the Prime Minister at the 2018 SCO Summit and stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment. These themes have been highlighted during our Chairmanship of SCO," according to9 the statement.

All the SCO Member States have been invited to attend the summit. The countries include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In addition, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia have been invited as Observer States. As per SCO tradition, Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the Chair.