SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting kicks off in China

The official meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States began on Monday in Tianjin, China.

At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, is leading the Pakistani delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting, being held from July 14–16 in Tianjin.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign ministers from all SCO member states — including Pakistan, China, Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — will participate in the meeting. Notably, the Foreign Minister of Belarus will attend the CFM for the first time as an official member of the SCO.

According to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the formal session of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers will take place on July 15.

The CFM is the third-highest forum within the SCO structure. It focuses on matters related to international relations, as well as the foreign and security policies of member states. The forum is responsible for approving documents — including declarations and statements — that will be submitted for consideration by the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS), as well as decisions to be adopted by the CHS. The upcoming CHS summit is scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin.

On the sidelines of the CFM, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts. At the invitation of CPC Politburo Member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, foreign ministers of SCO member states and heads of the SCO’s permanent bodies will attend the meeting. The participants will exchange views on SCO cooperation across various fields and on key international and regional issues.