The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers Meeting is taking place in Goa on May 4-5. The meeting is bringing together foreign ministers from all member states of the SCO, including China, Russia, Pakistan and India. The visit of Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is one of the key topics of discussion. This is the first time a Pakistan foreign minister has visited India for a multilateral conference in seven years. The Indian external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, arrived in Goa on Wednesday to oversee preparations for the meeting and will hold bilateral meetings with foreign ministers from Russia, China and Uzbekistan.
The Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang will also attend the meeting. Discussions will focus on regional and international situations, as well as SCO cooperation in various fields. It remains unclear whether the alleged assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin will be discussed at the meeting. India took over the rotating presidency of the SCO following the Samarkand Summit in Uzbekistan in 2022. The meeting will be held over two days and formal invitations were sent to all SCO countries’ foreign ministers earlier this year.