PM Shehbaz heads to Kyrgyzstan for SCO summit

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan has departed for a three-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan from August 31 to September 2. He was invited by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State meeting in Bishkek. According to the Prime Minister's Office, Shehbaz will address the SCO summit and present Pakistan's stance on various regional and global issues.

The SCO summit, a two-day event, brings together leaders from Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian countries, and Belarus. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the leaders attending the summit. The SCO is celebrating its 25-year anniversary and seeks to be a counterinfluence to the West.

During his stay in Bishkek, Prime Minister Shehbaz will participate in the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting and the SCO Plus Summit. He will also assume Pakistan's chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-2027 and hold bilateral meetings with participating country leaders on the sidelines. According to the Daily Times, the visit will include bilateral engagements in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn - Pakistan, Dawn, Kyiv Post, Channel News Asia — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.