TIANJIN (China): Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting held here, as member states convened to discuss pressing international and regional challenges ahead of the bloc’s annual leaders’ summit.
Hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the high-level gathering brought together the foreign ministers of the 10-member Eurasian alliance, which includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Iran. Foreign ministers also in attendance included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
The meeting serves as a key precursor to the Council of Heads of State summit scheduled for August 31 and September 1, also in Tianjin.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the foreign ministers and delegates on Tuesday morning, looking forward to meeting with the heads of state in the upcoming month. The foreign ministers signed resolutions and documents at Tuesday’s meeting, inking agreements on cooperation. The ministers also agreed on a drafted communique which will be signed at the upcoming leaders’ summit.
The Pakistani foreign minister’s visit comes at a sensitive time, as Pakistan enters the summit season amid heightened tensions with its neighboring country, India.
In April, India accused Pakistan of being behind the Pahalgam attack without presenting evidence, triggering a military escalation that included air strikes and a week-long missile exchange between the two nuclear-armed rivals. The crisis was eventually defused through a US-brokered ceasefire.
The strain between Islamabad and New Delhi has also spilled over into recent SCO meetings. Earlier this month, the SCO’s defense ministers’ gathering ended without joint communiqué, reportedly due to India’s refusal to endorse a consensus document. Tuesday’s foreign ministers‘ meeting saw a more cautious tone, with member states focusing on common ground while navigating unresolved tensions.
The August summit in Tianjin is expected to tackle a broad range of foreign policy and security issues, including terrorism, multilateral cooperation, and the future direction of the SCO amid a shifting global order. Delegates will also review and adopt declarations and policy documents that will guide the bloc’s strategic agenda.
As one of the SCO’s key stakeholders, Pakistan views the group as an essential platform to pursue its regional and global diplomatic objectives, particularly in a time of rising geopolitical uncertainty.
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