ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, has reaffirmed Islamabad’s constructive engagement within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), stressing the importance of mutually beneficial collaboration.
He expressed the remarks during a meeting with the Secretary General of the SCO, Nurlan Yermekbayev, who is on an official visit to Pakistan.
The Deputy Prime Minister congratulated Yermekbayev on the commencement of his responsibilities as the new Secretary General of the SCO. He assured him of Pakistan’s full support for the SCO Secretariat.
Ishaq Dar underlined Pakistan’s close historical ties with SCO member States and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to uphold the Shanghai spirit.
He appreciated the potential of SCO as a forum for promoting regional peace and security as well as a tool to achieve enhanced economic development within the region. In this context, he reiterated Pakistan’s constructive involvement in mutually beneficial cooperation within the SCO mechanisms, especially in the areas of bilateral trade, transport, and connectivity.
The Secretary General, Yermekbayev, thanked Pakistan for the hospitality and appreciated Pakistan’s active engagement in SCO activities.
He lauded Pakistan’s successful hosting of the Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO member States (SCO CHG) in Islamabad in October 2024. Both sides had a useful exchange of views on SCO priorities.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 received the Secretary General of SCO, Nurlan Yermekbayev on 18 April 2025. He congratulated him on his new assignment as the SG SCO.
DPM/FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment for the “Shanghai… pic.twitter.com/2pt0TjIazB
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 18, 2025
They deliberated on ways and means for advancing cooperation under the SCO in the areas of transportation and logistics, energy security, food security, health, e-commerce, and green economy.
The SCO is a ten-member intergovernmental trans-regional organisation established on 15 June 2001. Pakistan became an SCO Observer in 2005 and acquired full membership in June 2017. Pakistan advocates regional peace, stability, and socio-economic development at the SCO platform.
The SCO region is home to 3.4 billion people (42% of the world population. It occupies a landmass of 36 million square kilometres (25% of the global landmass) and accounts for a combined GDP of U$ 24.67 trillion (25% of the global GDP).
