India has invited Pakistan to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) culture ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on November 20 and 21. Pakistan is reviewing the invitation before deciding whether to send an official delegation. The development marks another diplomatic engagement between the two neighbouring countries.
Sources within Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that India invited Federal Minister for Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi. The invitation concerns the two-day meeting of the SCO Council of Ministers of Culture. Islamabad will announce its decision after completing internal consultations.
Read more: Indian delegation attends SCO meeting in Islamabad
The meeting will bring together cultural representatives from SCO member states in the Indian capital. The gathering provides a platform for participating countries to discuss cultural engagement within the regional organisation. However, Pakistan has not yet confirmed whether its officials will attend.
Pakistan and India are both permanent members of the SCO. Despite longstanding bilateral differences, both countries have participated in high-level meetings hosted by each other. Their previous attendance reflects continued engagement through the multilateral organisation.
In May 2023, former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited Goa for an SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting. India hosted the gathering on May 4 and 5. His visit marked Pakistan’s participation in a major SCO meeting held in India.
Read more: SCO coordinators’ meeting begins in Islamabad, India joins
Later, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad on October 15 and 16, 2024. He attended the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting on behalf of India. The visit brought an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan for a regional diplomatic event.
More recently, India’s National Coordinator for the SCO, Alok Dimri, visited Islamabad last month, according to the report. The latest invitation follows these earlier diplomatic engagements between the two countries. Pakistan’s participation in the November meeting remains undecided, pending consultations by the government.