Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Dushanbe on Monday to head Pakistan’s delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting scheduled for October 19–20.
According to the Foreign Office, Dar was received at the airport by Tajikistan’s Energy and Water Resources Minister Daler Juma, co-chair of the Pakistan–Tajikistan Joint Commission. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Irfan Ahmed, SCO National Coordinator Khalil Hashmi and senior Tajik officials were also present.
Dar is visiting Tajikistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda. During the visit, he is scheduled to meet the country’s president and prime minister, as well as hold bilateral talks with counterparts from SCO member states on the sidelines of the summit.
The meeting will bring together prime ministers from Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, alongside Iran’s vice president and India’s external affairs minister.
The Council of Heads of Government is the SCO’s second-highest decision-making body, overseeing cooperation in areas including trade, finance, economic development, connectivity and budgetary affairs.
The participants are expected to adopt a joint communique, statements and key decisions outlining the organisation’s priorities and cooperation agenda.