"This visit should be seen as...," Pak FM Bilawal Bhutto on his visit to India for SCO meet

Islamabad, April 21: Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that his participation in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council in India reflected Islamabad's commitment to the charter of the SCO and should not be seen in terms of bilateral ties.

 

 

Responding to a question on a program on Dunya News aired on Thursday, he said he would represent Pakistan at the Foreign Ministers meeting to be held in Goa next month. "We are committed to the SCO charter and this visit should not be seen as a bilateral one but in the context of the SCO," Bhutto-Zardari said.

 

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that Bhutto-Zardari will lead the Pakistani delegation to the meeting of SCO foreign ministers (CFM) scheduled to be held on May 4-5 in Goa.

 

Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch during a weekly presser on Thursday stated that Bhutto-Zardari is attending the SCO-CFM meeting at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

 

"Our participation at the meeting reflects Pakistan's continued commitment to the SCO charter and process and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities," the spokesperson said.

 

Bilawal will be the first foreign minister to visit India after a gap of nearly 12 years, reported Business Recorder. In 2011, then Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar visited India.

 

India has formally sent invitations to all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) including Pakistan and China for the upcoming foreign ministers' meeting.