NEW DELHI: India will host a meeting of SCO National Security Advisors on Wedneday. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will host the meeting.
Pakistan and China will be attending the meeting virtually. The post of NSA is vacant in Pakistan, so a senior defence official is likely to attend the meet virtually.
The next important SCO meet will be the defence ministers' meet from April 27-29 – again to be hosted in Delhi. There is no clarity on whether Pakistan and China will attend this meet in person or virtually or skip it.
The most awaited SCO meet is the Foreign Ministers meet that would be held in Goa on May 4th and 5th and the SCO Summit in July – which is likely to see participation of heads of states of SCO members.
Pakistan has so far attended SCO meets virtually. During the SCO Chief Justices meet (March 10) Pakistan downgraded its participation. Pakistan also attended the Power Ministers meet and another on shared Buddhist heritage.
Recently, Pakistan pulled out of a SCO Armed Forces Contribution in Military, Medical, Healthcare and Pandemics meeting after the Indian side objected to its use of maps that showed Kashmir as its territory.
The seminar was meant to share best practices in military medical, healthcare and pandemic preparedness. The topic was chosen based on the efforts made by various armed services in combating Covid by supplying isolation units, emergency healthcare equipment and aiding in vaccination programmes in isolated places.
On March 15, Pakistan’s new Charge d’Affaires Salman Sharif attended a meeting of Heads of Ministries and Departments of SCO member states responsible for the development of physical culture and sports. And on March 17, Pakistan attended the SCO Tourism meet in Kashi virtually.
The SCO, founded over 20 years ago, comprises eight countries, including Russia, India, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This grouping covers over 60 per cent of the Eurasian landmass, 40 per cent of the world population, and 30 per cent of the global GDP.
The member states include India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kygystan, Tajikstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. Iran is likely to become a member this year.
SCO dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt are also expected to become dialogue partners.