Islamabad, April 20
Pakistan announced on Thursday that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in India next month.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch announced it at a weekly media briefing here.
“Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India,” she said, ending weeks-long speculation if he would attend the conference in-person.
She said the Pakistan foreign minister would be attending the meeting as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had invited him to attend the SCO meet.
“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,” Baloch said.
It would be the highest-level visit to India by any Pakistani leader in recent years and a possible opportunity to break the ice between the two nations.
