India Raises Connectivity, Trade and Transit Issues at SCO Meeting in Pakistan

During the first visit by an Indian delegation to Pakistan since Operation Sindoor, a senior Indian official highlighted connectivity, transit and trade as key issues being discussed at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Connectivity is a significant issue, as Pakistan has denied India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through its territory.

India’s national coordinator for the grouping, Alok Dimri, told Pakistan’s public broadcaster PTV that the SCO has now reached India’s neighbourhood after holding its previous two summits in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and Tianjin, China.

Dimri, an Additional Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is leading the Indian delegation at the SCO national coordinators’ meeting in Islamabad, which is underway this week.

He has previously served as India’s ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic and has also been posted in China. He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed a civilisational dialogue among SCO member nations, scheduled to take place in New Delhi on November 20.

SCO Meeting Held Under Pakistan’s Presidency, Says Dimri

Speaking to PTV on the sidelines of the national coordinators’ meeting, Dimri said, “The SCO national coordinators’ meeting is taking place under Pakistan’s presidency, and this is an opportunity, after the September 1 SCO summit in Bishkek.”

He added that the SCO’s rotating presidency had moved from Tianjin to Bishkek and now to Islamabad, bringing the organisation’s focus to the region.

“This is an important opportunity,” he said.

“We have prepared an agenda focused on well-being, prosperity, and welfare,” Dimri said, adding that connectivity, transit and trade were key issues under discussion and that efforts were being made to advance them.

He further said that the meeting offered an opportunity to bring a regional perspective to discussions, allowing member states to express their languages, voices and views.

English Added as Third Official Language of SCO

Until now, SCO member states had conducted discussions in Russian and Chinese. However, English will also be used under Pakistan’s presidency, he said.

At the SCO summit in Bishkek in September, English was designated as the organisation’s third official language, after Russian and Chinese.

The SCO comprises 10 member states: Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and China.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar emphasised the theme of the country’s SCO chairmanship: “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation, and Shared Prosperity”.

India’s participation marks the first visit by an Indian delegation to Pakistan for an SCO meeting since External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad in October 2024.