New Delhi, Oct 18: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will represent India at the upcoming meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to be held at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 19-20, the government said on Sunday.
The meeting will focus on strengthening multilateral cooperation among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), particularly in the areas of trade, economy, investment, connectivity, innovation and cultural-humanitarian exchanges, the defence ministry said.
India remains actively engaged in various SCO mechanisms and continues to contribute to regional cooperation through initiatives in areas such as startups and innovation, digital public infrastructure, and people-to-people exchanges, it said in a statement.
“Singh will visit Dushanbe to represent India at the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, scheduled to be held on October 19-20,” the ministry said.
The forum is also expected to review the progress of the ongoing cooperation initiatives and consider decisions relating to the Organisation’s financial and institutional functioning.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for India to exchange views with the other SCO member states on advancing practical and mutually beneficial cooperation within the Organisation, the ministry said.
The previous CHG meeting was held in Moscow on November 18 last year, where External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had represented India.
The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
It was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017. Its other members include Iran and Belarus.
In April, Singh attended the SCO defence ministers’ meeting at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
