Pakistan to attend SCO meeting in India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has confirmed that a high-level delegation headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5 in Goa, India.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch made the announcement today during her weekly press briefing.

The FO said that the foreign minister is attending the SCO CFM meeting at the invitation of the current Chair of SCO CFM, Dr S Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs of the Republic of India.

​"Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities."

She said that Pakistan is currently preparing for the meeting.

​Bilawal had also attended the last meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in July last year in Tashkent.​

Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman represented Pakistan at the 4th SCO Meeting of Heads of Ministries on Environmental Protection. The meeting was held online in New Delhi on April 18.

The spokesperson stated that the National Disaster Management Authority director virtually attended the SCO Expert Meeting of Heads of Agencies for Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations while today Muhammad Idrees Mahsud, a Member of Disaster Risk Reduction, is virtually participating in an SCO meeting.

Sudan situation

About the worsening situation in Sudan, the FO spokesperson said: "We continue to follow the worrying developments in Sudan and are closely monitoring the safety and security of the Pakistani community there". 

"Our Embassy in Sudan remains in close and constant contact with our community and will continue to facilitate them. The well-being of Pakistanis remains a key priority of the Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."