NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s Chargé d’ Affaires to India, Saad Ahmad Warraich, attended a luncheon reception hosted by the Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry, Sibi George for resident envoys of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states and partner countries, as India prepares to host the grouping’s first Civilisational Dialogue Forum next month.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said discussions focused on strengthening cooperation within the SCO framework, particularly cultural and civilisational exchanges, and preparations for the upcoming forum scheduled for November 20, 2026.
"The interaction underscored India’s commitment to strengthening longstanding civilisational connections and people-to-people ties with the SCO region," Jaiswal said.
India will host the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to inaugurate the event, according to diplomatic sources.
The forum is expected to bring together representatives from more than 25 countries at Purana Qila, the 16th-century fort in the national capital.
The Ministry of Culture will organise the event in partnership with the MEA. The initiative was proposed by Modi at the SCO leaders’ summit in Tianjin in 2025 and subsequently adopted by the grouping.
Culture ministers from all 10 SCO member states, including Russia, China, the UAE, Iran and Belarus, have been invited, alongside representatives from observer and dialogue partner countries, the sources said. Pakistan has yet to confirm its representation at the forum.
Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurungzeb Khan Khichi, is among those invited, diplomatic sources said. If Khichi attends, it would mark the first visit by a Pakistani minister to India since then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa in May 2023.
The luncheon comes amid continued diplomatic strains between New Delhi and Islamabad. However, both countries remain engaged through multilateral platforms such as the SCO.
In September 2026, India sent its SCO National Coordinator, Alok Dimri, to Islamabad for a meeting ahead of Pakistan’s presidency of the grouping and its planned SCO leaders’ summit in August 2027.
