Indian Official Attends SCO Planning Meet in Islamabad as Pakistan Sets 2027 Summit

An Indian delegation led by Alok Dimri, Joint Secretary (Multilaterals and Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, attended a three-day meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) National Coordinators in Islamabad that began on Monday. It is the first official Indian visit of its kind to Pakistan since Operation Sindoor last year.

The engagement comes days after India and Pakistan exchanged sharp words at the United Nations General Assembly over terrorism and the Kashmir dispute. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif traded allegations in their national addresses, and diplomats from both sides exercised their rights of reply last week. India also rejected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's reference to Kashmir in his UNGA speech.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its SCO Chairship would promote the theme "Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity" for 2026-27. It described the National Coordinators' meeting as an important initial engagement under its chairmanship, contributing to preparations for high-level events, including the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting to be hosted by Pakistan in August 2027.

Dimri's participation represents a higher level of Indian representation than at recent meetings held under Pakistan's chairmanship this year. In mid-September, a meeting of the SCO Regional Anti-Terror Structure in Islamabad was attended by India's Charge d'affaires in Pakistan, Satyapal Pandey, without a delegation from India.

Indian officials stressed that the coordinators' meeting was being held in a multilateral format and carried no particular significance for bilateral ties. The participation nonetheless keeps open the possibility of higher-level attendance at ministerial events and the Heads of Council meeting, to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited. New Delhi has so far avoided leaders' meetings in both Delhi and Islamabad.

In 2023, Modi hosted the SCO Heads of Council Summit virtually, while Jaishankar hosted Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto in person for the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Goa. In 2024, Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad for the SCO Heads of Government meeting. The MEA has declined to comment on whether Modi would travel to Pakistan next year, but has not ruled it out.

At a briefing on Tuesday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal brushed aside a question on whether India would oppose Turkiye's induction into the 10-nation SCO, which currently comprises China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus and four Central Asian states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Erdogan had said earlier this month that Turkiye would pursue a "higher level" of engagement than its observer status, indicating he could seek full membership next year, given close ties and a military pact with SCO host Pakistan.

"As and when any issue of membership comes it is for [SCO] members to collectively decide as to how to go forward on that," Jaiswal said. He also criticised Erdogan for referring to Kashmir in his UNGA speech, in which the Turkish President called for a resolution of all South Asian disputes "including Kashmir".

"India rejects the unwarranted references to India and the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir made by the President of Türkiye during his address to the UN General Assembly. This is a matter, as you would understand, pertaining to India's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and no external party has any locus standi on this issue," Jaiswal said.