India's SCO coordinator highlights regional connectivity, trade & transit in Pakistan

Islamabad: India's SCO National Coordinator Alok A Dimri on Tuesday said regional connectivity, trade and transit were among the important issues being discussed by members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Speaking to PTV News on the sidelines of the three-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) national coordinators' meeting in Islamabad, Dimri also said members had agreed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a civilisational dialogue, which will be held in New Delhi on November 20.

The SCO a Eurasian regional grouping, focused on political, security, economic and cultural cooperation among its member states. It has 10 member states: China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus.


According to footage of the interview shared by Pakistan's Foreign Office, Dimri said the SCO provided a platform where countries from Eurasia and the Asian landmass had come together and "we have designed an agenda for our well-being, prosperity and welfare".

"Connectivity is an important point. Regional connectivity, trade, transit... are important issues, which have been discussed and progress is also being made," he said.

The meeting, held under Pakistan's 2026-27 chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State, is aimed at discussing the organisation's programme of activities, preparations for upcoming meetings and other matters on its agenda. It is also part of preparations for the SCO Council of Heads of State summit to be hosted by Pakistan in August 2027.

The Indian delegation's participation in the meeting is the first such high-level visit to Pakistan since last year's brief conflict between the two countries.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had led India's delegation to the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad on October 15-16, 2024.

Dimri said it was his first visit to Pakistan and such visits would continue through the SCO platform as its programmes would continue throughout the year.

"My first visit is only to Islamabad but what I wanted to see was Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad," he said, adding that Lahore had been declared an SCO cultural city.

He said these programmes would culminate with the Islamabad summit and expressed hope that cooperation in different areas under the SCO would improve.

Dimri said the SCO was a regional framework comprising countries from North Asia, East Asia and Central Asia, and said, "we will be able to convey to the world our languages, our voices and our thoughts through the SCO".