New Delhi, Oct 4:
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be visiting Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ‘Heads of Government’ (HoG) summit meeting on October 15-16 in Islamabad, the MEA spokesperson announced today.
Addressing the weekly press briefing on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that EAM Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation to the SCO summit in Islamabad.
Asked if there would be any bilaterals with the Islamabad leadership, the spokesperson declined to say anything, except that the visit was in relation to the SCO summit and that the media would be updated on any developments.
“The visit is as far as our participation in the SCO is concerned… As the visit develops, we will keep you informed of it,” he added.
Pakistan is holding the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, and is hosting the in-person meeting of the regional bloc that includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, and Central Asian nations.
Pakistan had extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in August for the event, according to Pakistani news reports.
The EAM would be the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in almost nine years.
