Pakistan Extends Formal Invitation To Prime Minister Modi For SCO Summit In October—All You Need To Know

Pakistan has formally extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled to take place in Islamabad in mid-October.

During a weekly press briefing, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch announced that invitations have been sent to the heads of state of various countries for the SCO meeting in Islamabad.

"An invitation has also been sent to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi," she said, adding that some countries had already confirmed their participation in the meeting, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

"It will be informed in due course which country has confirmed," Baloch added.

The SCO heads of government meeting, hosted by Pakistan, is slated for 15-16 October.

The event will be preceded by a ministerial-level meeting and several senior officials' meetings, all focused on discussions about financial, economic, socio-cultural, and humanitarian collaboration among SCO member states.

Although Pakistan has sent an invitation to PM Modi as per the 'protocol' but it is unlikely that he would accept the invite as bilateral relations between the two countries have been tense.

Earlier this year, PM Modi had not attended the SCO's 24th annual summit of heads of state held in Kazakhstan on 3-4 July, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had represented India in Astana.

Last year, Pakistan's then-Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had visited India to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting.

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