Pakistan Invited PM Modi To Islamabad For SCO Summit

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Delhi
• Aug 25, 2024
• 337

Pakistan has invited PM Modi to Islamabad for the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). 

Pakistan will host the SCO meeting between 15-16 October. Apart from India, the heads of government of other member countries of the organization have also been invited.

According to media reports, there is little hope that PM Modi will go to Islamabad for this meeting. However, he can send a minister as a representative to attend the meeting. 

Last year, Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, hosted the SCO CHG meeting. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended it from India's side.

PM Modi did not attend the SCO Summit held in Kazakhstan on 3-4 July this year. In his place, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar represented India. Actually, during the SCO Summit, the first session of the Parliament was held after the formation of the new government in India, due to which PM Modi could not go to Kazakhstan.

Earlier last year, the then Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto had attended the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Goa. 

Prime Minister Modi last visited Lahore in 2015 on a surprise visit. Then he met Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.

After this, in December 2015, India's then Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj also visited Pakistan. Since her visit, no Prime Minister or minister of India has visited Pakistan. Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Since then, there has been no high-level meeting between the two countries.

SCO is an organization formed to maintain peace and cooperation among all countries in Central Asia. Pakistan, China and Russia are also its members. SCO provides a strong platform to India to strongly put forward its views on issues related to fighting terrorism and security.