ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is hosting a global event after 27 years as 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit will be held on Wednesday (today) under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The 23rd SCO Council of Heads of Governments (CHG) meeting will open with the address of Premier Shehbaz Sharif.
The prime ministers of eight countries will deliberate on economy, trade and environment in the SCO meeting. The summit will approve the organisation’s bud¬get and address key issues related to economic collaboration among member states.
The plenary session will conclude with a document-signing ceremony.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Chiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will participate in the meeting along with the prime ministers of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. India is represented by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, while Uzbek prime minister and Iranian minister will take part in the conference. Iran’s trade minister Seyyed Mohammad Atabak is replacing first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref who had to pull out at the last minute due to a regional situation.
Mongolia is participating as an observer state, and Turkmenistan as a special guest. Representatives from int¬e¬r¬national organisations, including the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the European Economic Community, are also attending the meeting.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will welcome guests at the Convention Center. A group photo of the participating leaders will also be taken before the start of the meeting.
It is worthy to be mentioned here that Pakistan took over the chair of the SCO CHG for 2023-24 at the Bishkek meeting on October 26, 2023. Interim foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani represented Pakistan.
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