Pakistan announced on Thursday that its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit India next month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in Goa.
"Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India," Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch announced in a weekly media briefing.
"Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan's commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities," the official said.
Mr Zardari's visit to India will be the first visit by any Pakistani leader after Nawaz Sharif in 2014.
FM @BBhuttoZardari will lead ??delegation to SCO-CFM meeting being held on 4-5 May 2023 in Goa,India. FM's participation in Meeting reflects ??'s continued commitment to SCO Charter & processes & the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities.
— Spokesperson ?? MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) April 20, 2023
India, which currently holds the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) presidency, sent the invitation to SCO members including the new Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in January.
"We hold the current presidency of SCO. As customary, we extend invites to all SCO countries including Pakistan. We expect them all to attend the events," the Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a press briefing in February.
Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after the 2019 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama by Pakistan-backed terrorists and the surgical strikes by India on terrorist training camps in Pakistan's Balakot in response.
The relations further deteriorated after India announced the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir's special powers and the bifurcation of the state into Union territories in August 2019.
The SCO is a regional political and security bloc whose members include Russia, China, India and Pakistan. The foreign ministers' meeting will be held in Goa.
India became a full member of SCO on 9th June, 2017. There are four Observer States viz Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia and six dialogue partners - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.
The eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a major regional powerhouse that was established over two decades ago with the aim of promoting economic, political, and military cooperation among its member nations. It represents around 42 per cent of the world's total population and 25 per cent of the global GDP.