PM Shehbaz to participate in SCO virtual summit hosted by India on July 4

On July 4, the Indian government will host the 23rd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's Council of Heads of State (CHS), which will take place via video conference. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend.

The Indian Prime Minister issued the invitation to the Prime Minister to attend the SCO-CHS in his role as the SCO's current Chair, the Foreign Office (FO) stated in a news statement on Friday.

India will host the SCO summit online in July.

China, India, Russia, and other nations from much of Eurasia make up the SCO, a political and security union. Iran will join the SCO CHS this year as a new member, according to the foreign ministry.

According to the FO, the leaders will discuss significant national and international problems and determine how member nations will cooperate going forward.

The FO said, "The Prime Minister's participation in the CHS reflects the strong priority that Pakistan gives to the SCO, as a major platform for regional security and development, and increased interaction with the area.

On July 4, Chinese President Xi Jinping will also be there and give a speech through video connection.

In order to play a stronger role as a counterweight to Western influence in the area, the group that was originally formed in 2001 by Russia, China, and former Soviet governments in Central Asia has been enlarged to include India and Pakistan.

 Kazakhstan will assume the SCO chairmanship following the meeting in July.

At the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting earlier this year, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to the "principles of mutual trust, equality, respect for cultural diversity, and the pursuit of shared development enshrined in the original "Shanghai Spirit"."

He remarked, "Pakistan's decision to attend the meeting was excellent because I got to meet every foreign minister separately, save for one," when speaking to a news conference.

He declared, "We have to make our statement at the formal assembly, and our objectives have been achieved.

He noted that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had previously called for normalising ties between Pakistan and India, but "that space is no longer open" as a result of India's violation of international law in August 2019.

"In the past, Benazir Bhutto tried and Asif Ali Zardari tried for the same, but India's illegal actions undermined the bilateral environment and the onus is on India," the speaker alleged. Currently, there is a trust gap. We cannot guarantee that an agreement will be abided by, even if both parties sign it.

He highlighted that India should create a cordial environment for talks.