ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The prime minister’s advisor on national security and foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz will lead the Pakistani delegation at the upcoming meeting of the council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states.
The SCO council of the heads of government meeting will take place on December 14-15 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
The meeting will focus, in particular, on discussing the results of the 13th SCO council of external trade and economy ministers meeting which was held in Astana in November 2014 while the SCO secretariat will present a report on the organization’s foreign economic and foreign trade activity.
In her weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, the Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said that having an observer status in the SCO, Pakistan has been making contribution towards regional peace and security.
The spokesperson said that matter relating to Pakistan’s full membership to the organization is under active consideration of SCO members.
The Foreign Office spokesperson said that the advisor will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the meeting.
The SCO – founded in 2001 in Shanghai – is a six-member regional organization comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan that focuses on mutual economic and security cooperation.
Pakistan, Iran, India, and Mongolia are observer members of the organization while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners.
The council of heads of government is the second-highest council in the SCO after the council of heads of state. The council holds annual summits at which members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation. It also approves the organization’s budget.
