ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday arrived in Tianjin to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War in Beijing and other official engagements.
Heads of state and delegations from across Asia and the Middle East will gather from Sunday in the Chinese port city for the two-day SCO summit.
The Pakistani delegation accompanying the prime minister includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and senior government officials.
At the summit, the prime minister will present Pakistan’s perspective on pressing regional and global issues, outlining strategies to strengthen the SCO’s role in fostering cooperation and stability.
According to the Foreign Office, the participation comes at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The SCO Council of Heads of State Summit will bring together leaders from SCO member states, including Pakistan, Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The SCO Heads of State Plus meeting, held in an expanded format, will also feature leaders from Mongolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkiye, Egypt, the Maldives, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia, alongside the UN Secretary-General and heads of various regional and international organisations.
As the SCO’s highest decision-making body, the Council of Heads of State provides strategic, political and security guidance, adopting declarations, statements and key decisions that shape the organisation’s agenda.
The SCO CHS Plus, a themed summit, fosters broader dialogue with invited leaders, focusing on critical regional and global priorities.
During the CHS Plus meeting, PM Shehbaz will reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to promoting multilateralism, enhancing regional security and advancing sustainable development.
On the sidelines of the summits, the prime minister will also hold bilateral meetings with heads of state and government from SCO member states and invited leaders to further strengthen diplomatic relations.
Earlier on arrival, Sun Meijun, Minister and Secretary of the CPC Committee of the General Administration of Customs of China; Yu Yunlin, Chairman and Party Secretary of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal People’s Congress; China’s ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zedong; and Pakistan’s ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi received the prime minister at Tianjin airport.
Before his arrival, in a post on X, the prime minister described his trip as a “historic visit to China”.
“Will participate in the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting in Tianjin and attend the 80th anniversary of the victory over Fascism in WWII in Beijing,” he wrote, adding: “I look forward to meeting H.E. President Xi Jinping and other world leaders to further build upon our bilateral ties with China, our All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partner, as well as with other key countries of the region, enhance regional cooperation, strengthen multilateralism, and advance shared goals for peace and prosperity.”
Among the leaders slated to attend the SCO events and anniversary commemorations are North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also be present at what is set to be the bloc’s largest gathering since its founding in 2001.
