Islamabad (TDI): The Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Nurlan Yermekbayev, will visit Pakistan on 17-18 April 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a press release.
The SG’s visit is taking place at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar. SG Nurlan will be heading a delegation comprising of officials from the SCO Secretariat in Beijing.
During his two day visit, the SG will meet with the Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister, Minister of Commerce, and Foreign Secretary.
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Curtain Raiser: Visit of Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to Pakistan
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— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 16, 2025
He will also visit the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and will speak at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).
The engagements of SG Nurlan in Islamabad are centered around meetings with business leaders, entrepreneurs, media persons, and important government dignitaries.
The visit will “provide an opportunity for Pakistan to engage with the SCO Secretariat while highlighting its perspective and priorities for making SCO mechanisms more effective in advancing shared regional security and economic goals.”
Read More: SCO Summit Marks Pakistan’s Diplomatic Victory: FO
Last year on October 15 and 16, Pakistan hosted the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting.
SCO, now a ten-member inter-governmental trans-regional organization, originally started off as Shanghai Five in 1996. It assumed its current name in 2001, while Pakistan joined this regional organization in 2017.
It is the largest regional multilateral organization of the world. SCO region is home to 3.4 billion people, which makes 42% of the world population.
It occupies a landmass of 36 million square kilometers (25% of global landmass) and accounts for a combined GDP of US $ 24.67 trillion (25% of the global GDP).
Nuzhat Rana is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
