Jaishankar to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Kyrgyzstan

New Delhi [India]: Union Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday embarked on a two-day visit to Kyrgyzstan to attend the 22nd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG), to be held under the chairmanship of Kyrgyzstan, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The October 25-October 26 meeting in the Kyrgyz capital city of Bishkek will be attended by the heads of governments of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the Vice-President of Iran, and the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan.

“In Bishkek, the external affairs minister will also meet with his counterparts from other SCO member states and call on the country’s top leadership,” the MEA statement read.

SCO observer States including Belarus and Mongolia as well as guest state Turkmenistan will also attend the meeting.

The CHG is the second-highest forum in SCO. It focuses primarily on the areas of economy, finance, commerce, and socio-economic cooperation.

India held the SCO Leaders Summit this year on July 4 in a virtual format.