External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday arrived in Islamabad for the 23rd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan is the first such visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister in nine years. Sushma Swaraj last visited Pakistan in 2015.
The External Affairs Minister landed in the Nur Khan Airbase and was received by Ilyas Mehmood Nizami, Director General (South Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan.
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Jaishankar is representing India at the SCO meeting in lieu of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is Jaishankar's maiden visit to Pakistan since becoming External Affairs Minister. He had last visited Pakistan in 2015 as the Foreign Secretary.
The visit is being seen as some kind of a thaw in the bilateral ties in terms of positive signalling even as both countries have stopped having formal dialogues since 2016. PM Modi visited Pakistan in December 2015 on an invitation by former PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.
Before arriving in Islamabad, Jaishankar had said he will not use this opportunity to resume dialogue with Pakistan but will focus on the SCO agenda. Founded in 2001, SCO is a China-led grouping consisting of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus.
"The 23rd Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) will be held on 16 October 2024 in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Pakistan. The SCO CHG meeting is held annually and focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the Organization. External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar will represent India at the meeting. India remains actively engaged in the SCO format, including various mechanisms and initiatives within the SCO framework," the MEA said in a press statement said Tuesday.