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The 23rd Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, from October 15 to 16, ARY News reported on Saturday.
According to a statement from the Pakistan Foreign Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair the upcoming CHG meeting. The Prime Minister of China Li Qiang, Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Zhaparov, Prime Minister of Tajikistan Akylbek Zhaparov, and Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov, as well as the first Vice President of Iran Mohammad Mokhber and the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, will represent the SCO member states during the summit, ARY News reported. The summit will also feature participation from the Foreign Ministers and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Turkmenistan as special guests, as well as the Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai as an observer state. On the sidelines of the summit, PM Shehbaz will also hold bilateral discussions with visiting heads of delegation, ARY News reported. The CHG meeting will assess the organisation's performance and talk about current collaboration in the areas of commerce, economy, environment, and sociocultural links. The leaders will approve the organisation's budget and make significant organisational choices to improve collaboration amongst SCO member states, ARY News stated. Meanwhile, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar emphasised the importance of the SCO's Council of Heads of Government meeting in improving Pakistan's worldwide image and developing regional collaboration. In a video statement, he stated that all preparations for hosting the SCO summit had been completed and that it was a great honour for the country, ARY News reported. The Minister further said that Pakistan was looking forward to welcoming the respected heads of government as well as the diplomats, noting that PM Shehbaz had himself overseen the preparations for the SCO and also guaranteed a hospitable reception. Notably, EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Islamabad for the SCO summit, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on October 5. The EAM said that he will not be going to Islamabad to discuss "India-Pakistan relations," but his visit is all about the multilateral event SCO Summit 2024. The minister said that he is travelling to Pakistan only to be a "good member of the SCO". (ANI)
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