PANJIM: For the first time since the BRICS head of state meeting in Goa, in October 2016, a powerhouse of world leaders will converge by the seaside in Goa for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) nations’ two-day conclave, starting on Thursday.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov and Pakistan’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are among those set to attend the meeting that will be chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who has already arrived in Goa.
It is learnt that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to hold separate bilateral talks with Qin Gang and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov. However, there is no plan yet for a bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is expected to arrive in Goa on Thursday evening. His trip to India will be the first visit from Islamabad since 2011 when then-Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar visited India.
India took over the presidency of SCO in September 2022 for a year. The meeting will give India and other member countries a platform to discuss multilateral cooperation and dispute issues.
The SCO is an eight-member multilateral organisation, established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai. Member States of SCO are China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
