Led by MEA Joint Secretary Alok Dimri, the Indian delegation is attending the three-day SCO Council of National Coordinators meeting in Islamabad, the first major engagement under Pakistan’s 2026-27 chairmanship
An Indian delegation led by Alok Dimri, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs’ Multilateral Economic Relations division and India’s national coordinator for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), is in Islamabad to attend a key meeting of the grouping’s national coordinators.
The three-day meeting, being held from September 28 to 30, is the first meeting of the SCO Council of National Coordinators under Pakistan’s chairmanship of the organisation’s Council of Heads of State for 2026-27. Pakistan formally took over the rotating chairmanship from Kyrgyzstan on September 1.
The meeting is focused on planning the SCO’s programme of activities for the year, including preparations for upcoming ministerial-level meetings and other engagements. It will also help set the agenda for the SCO summit that Pakistan is scheduled to host in Islamabad in August 2027.
What is on the agenda?
The national coordinators are discussing the programme of events and activities to be held during Pakistan’s chairmanship, along with preparations for upcoming SCO meetings and other organisational matters.
Pakistan has adopted ‘Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity’ as the theme for its chairmanship.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, Islamabad’s priorities include greater regional connectivity, innovation, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. The country has also said it will work with other member states and the SCO Secretariat to advance the organisation’s objectives.
Regional security and counterterrorism remain part of the broader SCO agenda. The grouping’s cooperation mechanisms cover issues including security, economic cooperation, connectivity and people-to-people ties.
The discussions in Islamabad will also help coordinate the calendar of meetings and events leading up to the 2027 Council of Heads of State summit.
India-Pakistan engagement
The meeting comes against the backdrop of strained relations between India and Pakistan. However, both countries continue to participate in SCO mechanisms despite their bilateral differences.
India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO in 2017. Since then, officials from the two countries have participated in various meetings and institutional mechanisms of the organisation.
India’s participation in the Islamabad meeting is therefore taking place within the SCO’s multilateral framework, where member states continue to engage on organisational and regional issues.
The current meeting also marks a notable visit by a senior Indian official to Pakistan. The Indian Express reported that Dimri’s visit is the first by an Indian official of this seniority to Pakistan in about a year and a half.
Focus shifts to 2027 SCO summit
The coordinators’ meeting is an early step in preparing for the larger programme of engagements during Pakistan’s chairmanship.
Pakistan is scheduled to host the SCO Council of Heads of State summit in Islamabad in August 2027. Preparations for the summit, including arrangements related to venues, accommodation, security, transport and logistics, have already been reviewed by Pakistani authorities.
The outcome of the national coordinators’ meeting will help shape the calendar of SCO meetings and activities that will take place before the heads of state gather in Islamabad next year.
