SCO meet in Goa: Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto is likely to reach Goa today (May 4) evening around 4:30 pm by a charted plane for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers meeting. Earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that Bhutto will lead the Pakistani delegation to the meeting of SCO Foreign Ministers in Goa.
During a weekly press conference last week, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated that Bhutto is attending the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the invitation of India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. “Our participation at the meeting reflects Pakistan’s continued commitment to the SCO charter and process and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities,” the spokesperson said.
According to reports, Bhutto will be the first Pakistani Foreign Minister to visit India after a gap of nearly 12 years. In 2011, then Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had visited India.
Will there be a bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Bhutto?
However, the spotlight is expected to be also on whether there will be a bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Bhutto on the sidelines of the SCO conclave.
People familiar with the preparations for the conclave said Jaishankar will hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from China, Russia and some other member nations of the grouping. The bilateral talks with Qin and Lavrov are likely to take place at a beach resort in Benaulim on Thursday. But there is no indication yet of such a meeting between Jaishankar and Bhutto-Zardari.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Jaishankar reached Goa to inspect the preparations for India’s presidency of the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting. India took over the rotating presidency of the SCO at the Samarkand SCO Summit in 2022. This year India is hosting several important SCO meetings including the Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa from May 4-5.
Notably, India had sent formal invitations to all SCO members and the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Russia have confirmed their participation in the meeting. On its Foreign Minister’s visit to India, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that at the meeting Qin Gang will exchange views with other SCO member states’ foreign ministers on the international and regional situation.
