Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari left for Goa on Thursday on his maiden visit to neighboring India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting.
Bilawal is leading the country’s delegation in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO to be held in Goa on May 4-5.
While departing Karachi for India, Bilawal reiterated Pakistan’s strong commitment to the SCO Charter in a tweet.
“My visit [to India] illustrates how much importance Pakistan attaches to the SCO and how seriously it takes membership of the SCO,” he said in a short video message.
On my way to Goa, India. Will be leading the Pakistan delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization CFM. My decision to attend this meeting illustrates Pakistan’s strong commitment to the charter of SCO.
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) May 4, 2023
During my visit, which is focused exclusively on the SCO, I look… pic.twitter.com/cChUWj9okR
The foreign minister said that he wants bilateral relations with the countries that are part of the international forum.
“During my visit, which is exclusively focused on the SCO, I look forward to constructive discussions with my counterparts from friendly countries,” Bilawal wrote on the microblogging site.
FM Bilawal takes politicos into confidenceÂ
A day earlier, the foreign minister took into confidence alliance partners and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief on his maiden visit to India.
Bilawal Bhutto had telephonic contact with Jamiat Ulema Islam (F) Ameer Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNP) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) Convenor Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. What did Sirajul Haque and National Party (NP) leader Tahir Bizenjo.
He consulted them during his two-day visit to Goa.
SCO meeting
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, FM will attend the SCO Moot at the invitation of the current Chair, External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar.
The Foreign Office spokesperson said that our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan’s commitment to the Charter and Practice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the importance Pakistan attaches to the region in its foreign policy priorities.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources said that the foreign minister along with a delegation will depart from Karachi to Goa by a chartered flight.
Sources aware of the development said that Indian civil aviation authorities have contacted the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCCA) and finalized the route of the special aircraft.
Besides deliberating on important regional and international issues and signing some institutional documents, the Council will finalize the agenda and decisions of the 17th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting to be held in New Delhi on July 3. 4, 2023.
The meeting will also see the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates to become dialogue partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
FM Bilawal will also meet his counterparts from friendly countries on the occasion of SCO.
Apart from Pakistan, the member countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and India.
The main objectives of the SCO are to promote mutual trust and good neighborly relations among the member countries, to strengthen regional peace, security and stability and in the fields of politics, trade and economy, culture, science and technology, education, energy. This includes developing a framework for effective collaboration. , transportation, tourism, and environmental protection etc.
Since becoming a member in 2017, Pakistan has been actively and constructively contributing to all activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to achieve its multi-sectoral goals and objectives in a mutually beneficial manner.
