Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe on Monday to lead Pakistan’s delegation at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.

Upon arrival, he was received by Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources Daler Juma, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Irfan Ahmed and Pakistan’s national coordinator for the SCO, Khalil Hashmi, along with senior Tajik government officials.

Later, he held a meeting with Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda and thanked him for the warm hospitality extended to the Pakistani delegation and appreciated the arrangements for the SCO meeting. According to the FO, he also congratulated Tajikistan on the 35th anniversary of its independence.

“The two leaders reviewed bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, energy, connectivity, defence and culture, as well as promoting people-to-people exchanges. They also underscored the importance of cooperation on climate change and water security,” it said.

“Highlighting Pakistan’s expertise in disaster management, Dar underscored the potential for cooperation with Tajikistan through the National Disaster Management Authority. They also exchanged views on regional developments. Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to working closely with Tajikistan to promote regional peace and deeper economic integration,” it said.

Dar is visiting Dushanbe at the invitation of Rasulzoda to attend the SCO’s Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting being held from Oct 19-20, according to the Foreign Office (FO).

The CHG is the SCO’s second-highest decision-making body and provides guidance on economic, financial, trade, connectivity and socio-economic cooperation, as well as the organisation’s budgetary matters, FO noted.

“The prime ministers of Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Iran’s vice president and India’s external affairs minister will also represent their respective countries at the meeting.”

During his visit, Dar will also call on Tajikistan’s president and prime minister and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from SCO member states on the sidelines of the meeting, the FO added.

Pakistan assumed the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) for 2027 during an annual summit held in Kyrgyzstan in September.

On Oct 1, Dar chaired a follow-up meeting to review preparations for the SCO CHS summit, which Islamabad is scheduled to host in 2027.

In July, Pakistan hosted the 12th meeting of the Heads of Border Services of the Competent Authorities of the SCO. Islamabad also chairs SCO’s Reg­ional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS), a role it assumed last September.

The country last hosted the SCO CHG meeting in Islamabad in October 2024.