Ishaq Dar in Dushanbe for SCO heads of government meeting on 19 and 20 October

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is leading Pakistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 19 and 20 October, the Foreign Office said on Monday, as reported by Dawn.

Dar is attending at the invitation of Tajikistan's Prime Minister, Qohir Rasulzoda.

Who else is there

According to the Foreign Office, the meeting brings together:

• the prime ministers of Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
• Iran's vice president
• India's external affairs minister

India sending its foreign minister rather than its prime minister means Dar and the Indian minister will be in the same room, though no meeting between them has been announced.

What the council does

The Council of Heads of Government is the SCO's second-highest decision-making body, after the heads of state summit. It deals with economic, financial and trade cooperation, transport and connectivity, and social questions, and it approves the organisation's budget. Its decisions usually come in a joint communique at the end of the meeting.

Dar's programme

Besides the plenary session, the Foreign Office said Dar would:

• call on the President and the Prime Minister of Tajikistan
• hold bilateral meetings with ministers from other SCO countries on the sidelines

Pakistan's SCO year ahead

The Dushanbe meeting opens a busy period for Pakistan in the organisation:

• Pakistan chairs the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure for 2025-26.
• It takes over the chairmanship of the Council of Heads of State in September, and is to host that summit in Islamabad in 2027. Dar chaired a meeting on 1 October to review preparations.
• Pakistan last hosted the Council of Heads of Government, the body meeting in Dushanbe now, in Islamabad in October 2024.

What it means at home

Hosting the 2027 summit would bring the heads of state of the SCO members to Islamabad, with the security arrangements that come with them. The Foreign Office has not yet given dates.

Pakistan also hosts the Maldives president this week: see Mohamed Muizzu's state visit from 20 to 22 October. We will update this story with the outcome of the Dushanbe meeting.