The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), established on June 15, 2001, by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is a permanent intergovernmental organization. Its primary goal is to enhance multilateral cooperation, promote peace and security, and work towards a new international economic order. Pakistan became a member in 2017 and has since actively participated in furthering the organization’s goals under the SCO Charter and the values of the Shanghai Spirit.
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The supreme decision-making body of the SCO is the Council of Heads of States (CHS), which meets annually to make important decisions. The Council of Heads of Government (CHG), the second-highest forum, focuses on fostering cooperation in socio-economic, trade, and financial sectors among member states. The CHG meets annually to discuss multilateral cooperation strategies, prioritize economic matters, and approve the SCO budget.
The last SCO CHG meeting took place in Bishkek on October 26, 2023, with Pakistan represented by then-Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. Pakistan assumed the rotating CHG chairmanship from 2023 to 2024.
The upcoming SCO CHG meeting in Islamabad will be attended by the leaders of SCO member states, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov, Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Iranian First Vice President Mohammadreza Aref, and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Additional participants include Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai (Observer) and Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov (Special Guest). Representatives from international organizations like CICA, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the European Economic Community are also expected to attend.
