New Delhi. October 4, 2024- India on Friday announced that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in mid-October.
The announcement was made by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.
The spokesperson clarified that the external affairs minister is travelling to Pakistan only to attend the SCO summit. In August, Pakistan invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO’s summit. Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan assumes significance as it is seen as a major decision on New Delhi’s part. The decision to send the senior minister is seen as a display of India’s commitment to the SCO which has been playing a key role in boosting regional security cooperation.
