Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif will attend the SCO Heads of States Summit next week. PM Modi will chair the summit, which is being held in a virtual format. (Image: Reuters File)
The Indian government said bilateral issues should not stand in the way of engagement in multilateral forums.
The government on Friday welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s decision to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State Summit which will take place in a virtual format next week.
“We welcome PM Shehbaz Sharif to the SCO meeting. SCO is a global forum and personal tensions should not come in between (in these kinds of multilateral meetings),” people from the Indian government familiar with the developments said.
“This time Iran is a new member and we aim to work on regional issues together in this forum. We expect Pakistan to understand that issues between two countries are different from regional issues. We need to behave in a more mature way,” the aforementioned people said.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the 23rd Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) being held in video conference format on 4th July 2023. The invitation to the Prime Minister to attend the SCO-CHS was extended by the Prime Minister of India in his capacity as the current Chair of the SCO. The Prime Minister’s participation in the CHS illustrates the high importance that Pakistan attaches to the SCO, as an important forum for regional security and prosperity, and enhanced engagement with the region,” the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Earlier, the Pakistan government said it was ‘likely’ that Shehbaz Sharif would attend the meeting but did not provide a confirmation.
On Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry also announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the SCO Summit which is being held in a virtual format.
“At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend via video conference in Beijing the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and deliver important remarks on July 4,” Hua Chunying, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced, according to reports by news agency ANI and China-based Xinhua News Agency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually chair the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting on July 4. The meeting will be attended by the heads of the two SCO Bodies – the Secretariat and the SCO RATS.
PM Modi has also invited Turkmenistan to the summit and the heads of the UN, ASEAN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU and CICA will also be present.
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