Pakistan to send minister to India for SCO forum

Pakistan has confirmed its participation in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Civilisational Dialogue Forum, which is scheduled to take place in New Delhi from November 20 to 22. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad announced that Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Masood Malik has been nominated to represent the country at the India-hosted event.

According to the foreign ministry, the forum will bring together representatives from various member states of the SCO to discuss cultural understanding and civilisational engagement. Pakistan has reiterated its commitment to promoting dialogue among civilisations and fostering people-to-people contacts within the framework of the organisation in a spirit of mutual respect. The inaugural edition of the event, which is an initiative proposed by India, will be hosted at Delhi's Purana Qila.

Pakistan has nominated Climate Minister Musadik Masood Malik to attend the SCO forum in New Delhi.

This proposed visit carries significant diplomatic weight as high-level ministerial exchanges between India and Pakistan have remained rare in recent years. If the travel proceeds as planned, Malik will become the first Pakistani minister to visit India since former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the SCO foreign ministers' meeting in Goa in May 2023. It would also mark the first such diplomatic trip since the four-day military conflict between the two nations that occurred in May 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in 26 deaths.

Pakistan India diplomatic exchanges

The announcement from Islamabad followed a statement by India confirming that invitations had been extended to all 10 SCO member states, including Pakistan, for the Civilisational Dialogue Forum. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had previously expressed hope that Pakistani representatives would participate in the event during a press conference discussing the invitations. In addition to SCO member countries, India has also extended invitations to observer nations and dialogue partners to attend the inaugural gathering.

Why it matters

This development marks a potentially notable moment in bilateral ties between Pakistan and India, given the scarcity of ministerial visits since 2023 and the military confrontation in 2025. For readers in South Asia and the broader region, the potential participation of a Pakistani federal minister in an India-hosted multilateral forum signals a possible channel for engagement within the SCO framework.