ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi reached Russia on Thursday to participate in the 16th Meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at Sochi from November 30 to December 1.
According to State Radio, the premier was received by Deputy Governor and other senior officials of Krasnodar Krai region. PM Abbasi is attending the summit at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, D.A. Medvedev.
It is the first SCO Heads of Government meeting that Pakistan will attend after assumption of full membership of the organisation in June this year.
He would outline Pakistan’s commitment to SCO’s objectives including fighting terrorism and extremism and its sincere interest in regional peace, stability and development.
Abbasi, along with his SCO counterparts, will participate in the SCO retreat being hosted by the Russian prime minister.
The retreat will be followed by a plenary session of CHG where the prime minister will deliver a statement.
The meeting will close on a signing ceremony of decisions and a joint communiqué by the heads of the delegations.
On the sidelines of the summit, the Prime Minister would also hold important bilateral meetings with heads of delegations from other member countries.
The SCO now comprises eight member states, including Pakistan, China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It has four observer states: Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia, and six dialogue partners, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.
The SCO’s objectives include building mutual trust, equality, respect for cultural diversity and good-neighbourly relations.
It aims to promote effective cooperation in the areas of political, security, trade, economy and social sectors. SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure contributes towards regional peace, security and stability.
 at Sochi from Nov 1){kind=link}