Islamabad: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari left for India on Thursday to attend an important multilateral meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in Goa on May 4 and 5. Bhutto Zardari, who will be the first foreign minister to visit India since 2011. is leading Pakistan Delegation to the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) based in Beijing.
The Foreign Office (FO) has said that the invitation to the Foreign Minister of Pakistan to participate in the SCO-CFM was extended by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as the current Chair of the SCO.
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Bilawal had left for Goa from Karachi.
“Finance Minister Bhutto Zardari leaves Karachi to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Council,” the spokesperson tweeted along with a picture of her departure.
Dunya TV reported that at the request of Pakistan, Bhutto Zardari was granted special permission by the Civil Aviation Authority of India to use Indian airspace.
Bhutto Zardari tweeted before his departure, “On the way to Goa, India. Will lead the Pakistan delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization CFM. My decision to participate in this meeting reflects Pakistan’s strong commitment to the Charter of the SCO.” ”
“During my visit, which is particularly focused on the SCO, I look forward to constructive discussions with my counterparts from friendly countries,” he said.
On the way to Goa, India. He will lead the Pakistan delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) CFM. My decision to attend this meeting reflects Pakistan’s strong commitment to the Charter of the SCO.
During my visit, which specifically focused on the SCO, I saw… pic.twitter.com/cChUWj9okR– Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (@BBhuttoZardari) May 4, 2023
The FO recently said, “Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will also meet his counterparts from friendly countries outside the CFM.”
Pakistan has said that the Pakistani Foreign Minister will not hold any meeting with his Indian counterpart.
The visit is highly symbolic as it is the first by a Pakistani foreign minister since Hina Rabbani Khar’s visit to India in July 2011 for peace talks.
The FO also noted that apart from deliberating on important regional and international issues and signing some institutional documents, the CFM will finalize the agenda and decisions to be adopted by the 17th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting to be held in New Delhi. Will give Delhi on 3rd and 4th July.
The CFM will also witness the signing of MoUs with five countries namely Bahrain, Kuwait Maldives, Myanmar and UAE to become Dialogue Partners of SCO.
Apart from Pakistan, SCO member states include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and India.
The FO said that since becoming a member in 2017, Pakistan has been actively and constructively contributing to all SCO activities to achieve its multi-sectoral goals and objectives in a mutually beneficial manner.
In February 2019, relations between India and Pakistan were severely strained after Indian warplanes bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
Relations deteriorated further after India announced in 2019 the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir’s special powers and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.