FM Qureshi to attend SCO meeting in Moscow

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday left for Moscow, Russia to represent Pakistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting.

Qureshi will attend the Meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (SCO-CFM) on 9-10 September 2020, said a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..

The invitation to the Foreign Minister to attend the SCO-CFM was extended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who would also chair the Meeting. The SCO-CFM is the highest forum of SCO after the Council of Heads of State (CHS) and the Council of Heads of Government (CHG). It deliberates on important regional and international issues and considers documents for approval and adoption by the Council of Heads of State.

The Moscow SCO-CFM will consider more than 20 documents for subsequent adoption in the SCO Council of Heads of State. It will also adopt a Joint Communiqué reflecting member states’ unified stance on important regional and international issues.

The Foreign Minister will also have bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the CFM.

SCO’s major objectives include promoting mutual confidence and good-neighborly relations among member states; strengthening regional peace, security and stability; and creating a framework for effective cooperation in political, cultural, trade and economy, science and technology, education, energy, transportation, tourism, environmental protection and other fields.

Besides Pakistan, SCO’s current membership comprises China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. SCO is an important forum for further enriching our deep-rooted historical and cultural links with member states, providing these ties a sound economic foundation, and promoting Pakistan as a regional trade and transit corridor.

Since becoming a member in 2017, Pakistan has been actively contributing in working towards achieving SCO’s multi-sectoral agenda through participation in various SCO mechanisms. From 2005 to 2017, Pakistan was an Observer in SCO.