Bilawal Bhutto to attend SCO meet in India, first visit by a Pakistan leader in 9 years

Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is attending the SCO-CFM meeting in Goa in May at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Published on: Apr 20, 2023, 15:33:11 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Ritu Maria Johny

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Pakistan announced Thursday that foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will head the country’s delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit to be held in May in Goa. Bilawal’s visit to India is the first by any Pakistani leader after Nawaz Sharif in 2014. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a briefing that the SCO foreign ministers meeting is scheduled from May 4 - 5.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. (via REUTERS)

"Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India. Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan's commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities," Mumtaz said.

Bilawal is also the first foreign minister to visit India 12 years after former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar came to India. The high level visit could lead to a thaw in the bilateral relations.

Watch: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari first Pak FM to visit India after 12 years | Islamabad accepts SCO invite

Indian and Pakistan’s ties have been strained following the Balakot strikes in response to the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

India has formally sent invitations to all SCO members including Pakistan and China for the foreign ministers' meeting. Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are also likely to attend the meet.

India assumed the chairmanship role of the 20-year-oldtrans-regional international organisations in 2022. The last SCO meeting was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Its members includeRussia, India, China, Pakistan,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017.Iran is the newest member, set to join SCO this month. The 2023 summit comes in the wake-up of Russia-Ukraine war and India's G20 Presidency.

(With inputs from PTI)

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