PM Shehbaz set to chair 23rd meeting of SCO CHG today

ISLAMABAD, 16 October (BelTA - APP) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to chair the 23rd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) today being attended by leaders from the regional countries.

Being held at the Jinnah Convention Center, the meeting will discuss ongoing cooperation in economy, trade, environment, and socio-cultural linkages.

Having joined the SCO in 2017, Pakistan assumed the rotating chair of the SCO CHG for 2023-24 at its previous meeting held in Bishkek on October 26, 2023. Prime Minister Shehbaz is the current chair of the Council.

Before the start of the proceedings, Prime Minister Shehbaz will receive the participating leaders at the venue before a group photo.

The session will formally start with the opening address of Prime Minister Shehbaz, who will also deliver concluding remarks.

The CHG meeting will also adopt important organizational decisions to further enhance cooperation among SCO member states and approve the budget of the Organization.

The leaders from the SCO member states attending the summit include China’s Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Tajik Prime Minister Kohir Rasulzoda, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Kyrgyzstan’s Chairman of Ministers’ Cabinet Zhaparov Akylbek, Trade Minister of Iran Seyyed Mohammad Atabek, and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Besides, Mongolia is participating in the summit as an Observer State being represented by Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai and Turkmenistan as a Special Guest represented by Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Rashid Meredov.