Pakistan is set to host the 23rd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states from October 15-16, 2024. The meeting will take place at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad and will be chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who currently holds the chair of the CHG.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, established on June 15, 2001, by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is a permanent intergovernmental international organization. It aims to strengthen multilateral cooperation, promote peace and security, and foster a new international economic order. Pakistan joined the SCO in 2017 and has since worked to strengthen good neighborly relations, remaining committed to the SCO Charter and the values of the Shanghai Spirit, according to Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.
The supreme decision-making body of the SCO is the Council of Heads of States (CHS), which meets annually to decide on important organizational issues. The Council of Heads of Government (CHG) is the second-highest forum within the SCO, focusing on fostering cooperation among member states in socio-economic, trade, and financial sectors. The CHG meets annually to discuss strategies for multilateral cooperation, determine priority areas, and approve the SCO budget.
The previous CHG meeting was held in Bishkek on October 26, 2023, where Pakistan was represented by then-Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. During that meeting, Pakistan assumed the rotating chair of the Council of Heads of Government for 2023-2024.
The upcoming CHG meeting in Islamabad is expected to be attended by leaders from 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, First Iranian Vice President Mohammadreza Aref, and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Other participants include Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai as an Observer and Turkmenistan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov as a Special Guest. Representatives from international organizations such as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the European Economic Community are also expected to attend the meeting.
