India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad Tuesday afternoon to attend the two-day 23rd Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) which kicks off later with a welcome dinner hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his capacity as the current CHG chair.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) plane carrying the Indian delegation landed at Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan airbase. The last time an Indian EAM visited Pakistan was in 2015 when then External Affairs Minister late Sushma Swaraj attended the Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad in December 2015.
India has consistently maintained that better relations with Pakistan can only be possible in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.
“The SCO CHG meeting is held annually and focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the organisation. 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,” a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said before Jaishankar’s departure on Tuesday.
According to the programme released by a spokesperson of Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, the dinner hosted by Sharif remains the only official engagement for the visiting leaders and delegations on Tuesday.
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