Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday welcomed foreign dignitaries, including Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) opening day dinner. Before the dinner, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warmly welcomed External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and shook hands with him and also had a brief conversation with him. During this time, smiles were seen on the faces of both of them.
The SCO includes China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, while 16 other countries are associated as observers or dialogue partners. Pakistan became a full member in 2017 at the SCO summit held in Kazakhstan, which was attended by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Currently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is presiding over the summit as the Chairman of the Council of Heads of State (CHD) of SCO.
After 9 years a Union Minister reached Pakistan
Talking about Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan, this is the first visit of any Union Minister to Pakistan after a gap of almost a decade. Earlier, when Jaishankar stepped on Pakistani soil, Pakistan Foreign Ministry's Director General of South Asia Ilyas Mahmood Nizami and other officials welcomed him at Noor Khan Airbase.
Avoidance of discussing bilateral issues
Jaishankar has ruled out discussing bilateral relations during his visit. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that Jaishankar will represent India at the SCO meeting and India will be actively involved in this forum. However, Jaishankar will not stay in Pakistan for more than 24 hours and will return to India after that.
