Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistani delegation to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting being held on May 4-5 in Goa, India.
Bilawal Bhutto will be the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in nearly 12 years.
According to reports, the Pakistani Foreign Minister will reach Goa on Thursday around 5pm. The Pakistani delegation will leave Karachi for Goa in the afternoon.
The Pakistani Foreign Minister is attending the SCO CFM meeting at the invitation of the current Chair of SCO CFM, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
“Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities,” the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Pakistani journalists crossed the Radcliffe line at the Attari Wagah international border today to cover the proceedings in Goa.
India granted visa to the Pakistani journalists to cover the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Goa.
The visit of the Pakistani Foreign Minister to India comes as EAM Jaishankar in his recent speeches, alluding to Pakistan, said “it is very difficult to engage with a neighbor who practices cross-border terrorism against us”.
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had participated in the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting held on April 28 in virtual format.
