Pakistan announced on Thursday that its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit India next month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in Goa."Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India," Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch announced in a weekly media briefing.
"Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan's commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities," the official said. Zardari's visit to India will be the first visit by any Pakistani leader after Nawaz Sharif in 2014. India, which currently holds the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) presidency, sent the invitation to SCO members including the new Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in January."We hold the current presidency of SCO. As customary, we extend invites to all SCO countries including Pakistan. We expect them all to attend the events," the Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a press briefing in February.