&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "India delegation attends SCO meeting in Pakistan ahead of 2027 summit: Alok Dimri leads team")
The National Coordinators of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) met in Pakistan's Islamabad to prepare for next year’s Council of Heads of State summit. India, a key SCO member, is attending the three-day meeting with its National Coordinator Alok Dimri leading the delegation. Pakistan’s National Coordinator Mohammad Faisal is chairing the meeting. The SCO includes Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and China. The meeting focuses on strengthening cooperation and coordination ahead of the SCO Heads of State summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad in August 2027, news agency PTI reported.
In July 2026, India also attended the 12th meeting of the heads of border services of the SCO held in Islamabad. This is the second time SCO level interactions are taking place between the two countries in Pakistan after the May 2025 military escalation. Earlier in 2024, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had led an Indian delegation to Islamabad for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting. Despite continuing bilateral issues, both nations regularly interface via the SCO multilateral mechanisms. Per the SCO Charter, member states are required to keep individual bilateral disputes entirely separate from the organisation's shared regional platform.
Pakistan holds the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27. According to the Foreign Office, its theme is “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity.” Pakistan’s foreign minister said the September 28-30 meeting would discuss a “wide range of issues relating to SCO cooperation and coordination”, including the “programme of activities under Pakistan's Chairmanship”, preparations for upcoming SCO meetings and events, and other matters on the organisation's agenda, according to PTI.
SCO Summit in Bishkek
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 26th SCO Summit which took place from August 31 to September 1, 2026, in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. In his address to the council, PM Modi heavily emphasized the need for member states to unitedly counter terrorism, specifically calling out the need to dismantle terror financing, recruitment, and safe havens. He strongly urged the bloc to reject any "double standards" on the issue. India joined other member states in adopting the consensus-based Bishkek Declaration, which officially formalized the bloc's stance against cross-border terrorism and extremist proxies.
