Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will lead the Pakistan delegation to the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held in Goa, India on May 4-5, 2023.

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, a Foreign Office statement said.

“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,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said.

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

Bilawal Bhutto is the first Foreign Minister to visit India in 12 years. Hina Rabbani Khar made an official visit to India as Foreign Minister in 2011.

This is being considered as a bold decision in the context of foreign policy by the government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is one of the largest organizations in the world. China, India, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are included in this organization, while Afghanistan, Belarus, Russia, Iran and Mongolia have observer status, while six dialogue partners are also included and Iran is also a member of this organization.