Indian FM Jaishankar to visit Pakistan in October for SCO summit

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will visit Pakistan later this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

“EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan for the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on 15th and 16th October,” confirmed MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a press briefing on Friday.

Jaishankar would be the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in almost 9 years.

Earlier, Pakistan had officially extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the SCO summit in Islamabad this October, according to a statement from the foreign office spokesperson.

The SCO meeting is scheduled to take place on October 15, 16 in Islamabad. Being a host, Pakistan has invited Indian PM Narendra Modi and other member states to visit Islamabad for the SCO meeting.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations.