ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan has stepped up preparations to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit of heads of state in 2027, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar chairing a review meeting on Wednesday and calling the event “an important opportunity to advance multilateral partnerships and regional cooperation”.
Dar directed all stakeholders to ensure “sustained smooth coordination” for the preparations, his office said. The meeting was attended by Tariq Bajwa, special assistant to the prime minister, the acting foreign secretary, Pakistan’s national coordinator for the SCO, and senior foreign ministry officials.
The Council of Heads of State is the bloc’s top gathering, bringing together the leaders of its 10 member countries, including China, Russia, and India. Pakistan last hosted an SCO meeting in October 2024, when Islamabad welcomed the Council of Heads of Government, the bloc’s prime ministerial-level forum.
Last month, India invited a Pakistani minister to an SCO meeting in New Delhi, the first such invitation since the May 2025 war.
A capital makeover
Earlier this week, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi ordered authorities to speed up the completion of hotels under construction in Islamabad and to upgrade existing ones ahead of the summit, according to an official statement. “We have to make Islamabad fully ready for the SCO summit and ensure arrangements befitting the distinguished guests who will be arriving,” he said.
Naqvi also directed officials to begin work on January 1 on converting One Constitution Avenue, a high-rise complex in the capital, into an international-standard hotel, in consultation with an international hotel chain, the statement said.
Talks with Uzbekistan
Separately, Dar spoke by phone on Wednesday with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister, Bakhtiyor Saidov. The two discussed bilateral ties and cooperation within the SCO and the Economic Cooperation Organisation, the Foreign Office said, without announcing any new agreements.
The SCO’s members are China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.
