Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Tajikistan’s capital on Monday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council of Heads of Government summit, as Islamabad seeks deeper trade, investment and connectivity ties with regional states.
Dar landed in Dushanbe ahead of the two-day summit, held from Oct. 19-20. The meeting brings together the prime ministers of Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with Iran’s vice president and India’s external affairs minister.
Bilateral Talks With Tajikistan
Shortly after his arrival, Dar met Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda. According to Pakistan’s foreign office, the two leaders reviewed bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation across trade, investment, energy, connectivity, defense and culture, while promoting people-to-people exchanges.
They also underscored the importance of working together on climate change and water security, and discussed regional developments. Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to close coordination with Tajikistan in promoting regional peace and deeper economic integration.
Trade and Energy Ambitions
For Pakistan, the summit is a key opportunity to expand economic links with Central Asian states. Islamabad has been working to improve transport and transit routes and to widen access to regional markets through its seaports.
A flagship example of the cooperation Pakistan is pursuing is the CASA-1000 project, which aims to build a power line carrying surplus Central Asian electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Talks With Chinese Premier
On the sidelines of the summit, Dar separately met Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The two exchanged views on regional developments and Pakistan-China bilateral ties, the foreign office said.
Dar later attended a banquet dinner hosted by Rasulzoda for the heads of delegations attending the SCO meeting.
Pakistan’s Chairmanship Role
The SCO was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan and India became full members in 2017, Iran joined in 2023 and Belarus became the bloc’s tenth member in 2024.
In September, Pakistan assumed the 2026-27 chairmanship at an SCO leaders’ summit in Bishkek. It will oversee the organization’s program until it hosts the next Council of Heads of State summit in Islamabad next year.
