FM Qureshi to attend SCO meeting in Moscow: FO

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will visit Russia to attend the SCO meeting scheduled to take place on September 9, 2020, in Moscow, the foreign office said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FM Qureshi is visiting Moscow on the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who would also chair the meeting.

The foreign minister will also have bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the CFM.

The SCO-CFM is the highest forum of SCO after the Council of Heads of State (CHS) and the Council of Heads of Government (CHG). It deliberates on important regional and international issues and considers documents for approval and adoption by the Council of Heads of State.

The Moscow SCO-CFM will consider more than 20 documents for subsequent adoption in the SCO Council of Heads of State. It will also adopt a Joint Communiqué reflecting member states’ unified stance on important regional and international issues.

SCO’s major objectives include promoting mutual confidence and good-neighborly relations among member states; strengthening regional peace, security and stability; and creating a framework for effective cooperation in political, cultural, trade and economy, science and technology, education, energy, transportation, tourism, environmental protection and other fields.

Besides Pakistan, SCO’s current membership comprises China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.