Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar departed for Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Monday to lead Pakistan’s delegation to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting, being held on Oct 19-20, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

In an earlier statement, the FO said Dar was visiting Tajikistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda.

“The prime ministers of Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Iran’s vice president and India’s external affairs minister will also represent their respective countries at the meeting”, the FO said.

The Council of Heads of Government is the SCO’s second-highest decision-making body and provides guidance on economic, financial, trade, connectivity and socio-economic cooperation, as well as the organisation’s budgetary matters.

During his visit, Dar will also call on Tajikistan’s president and prime minister and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from SCO member states on the sidelines of the meeting, the FO added.

On Oct 1, Dar chaired a follow-up meeting to review preparations for the SCO Council of Heads of State summit, which Pakistan is scheduled to host in Islamabad in 2027.

The meeting reviewed progress on arrangements for the summit and follow-up on decisions taken at the previous meeting.

Dar highlighted the summit as an opportunity to deepen engagement with SCO member states and advance shared regional priorities. He directed that preparations be carried out in a coordinated and timely manner to ensure the smooth conduct of the event.

In June, it was announced that Pakistan would assume the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) in September and host next year’s CHS summit.

Pakistan is also chairing the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure for 2025-26.

Pakistan last hosted the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad in October 2024.