New Delhi: Minister of External Affair S. Jaishankar on Friday welcomed Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the foreign ministers’ meet of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The duo posed for photographs before Jaishankar directed the Pakistan minister towards the venue.
#WATCH | EAM Dr S Jaishankar welcomes Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the Meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Goa pic.twitter.com/TVe0gzml1U
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2023
Bhutto is the first senior leader of Pakistan to visit in 12 years – the last being Hina Rabbani Khar in July 2011, who met then foreign minister S.M. Krishna.
Meanwhile, people familiar with official engagements on the sidelines of the SCO conclave have said there was no plan for a bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Bhutto as there was no request for it from the Pakistani side.
Bhutto arrived in Goa on Thursday, and sent out a tweet with the caption – “Salaam, from Goa, India”. In a short video, he said: “Assalamualaikum, we have reached Goa for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet… I will first hold a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister. Then, I will hold a meeting with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister. I will attend the dinner hosted for all foreign ministers.”
Before leaving Pakistan, Bhutto had said his decision to attend the meeting demonstrated the country’s strong commitment to the SCO and how seriously it took its membership. “I look forward to constructive discussions with my counterparts from friendly countries,” he tweeted.
#WATCH | Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to reach Goa today. He will be leading the Pakistan delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
"My decision to attend this meeting illustrates Pakistan’s strong commitment to the charter of SCO. I look forward… pic.twitter.com/dSEETvUJyV
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2023
Bhutto’s visit to India to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting comes amid continuing strain on ties on a host of issues, including Islamabad’s use of cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Foreign ministers from the eight member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – including Bhutto, China’s Qin Gang and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov – are expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, counter-terrorism concerns, especially in Afghanistan, reforming the SCO, and the possibility of using national currencies to settle trade payments.
India holds the SCO’s presidency for one year.
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