ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently chairing the 23rd summit of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shan­ghai Cooperation Organi­sation (SCO).

The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.

Pakistan became a full member of the SCO at its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, which was attended by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who recently also expressed hope for reviving ties with India.

As the current Chair of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the summit.

Leaders from SCO member states arrived in Islam­abad on Tuesday for the SCO meeting, where discussions will cen­ter around trade, economic cooperation, and regional connectivity within the Eurasian political and security bloc.

The summit will app­r­ove the organisation’s bud­get and address key issues related to economic collaboration among member states.

The meeting is being attended by the heads of government of eight member states, while Iran and India will be represented by their trade and external affairs ministers, respectively, after Iranian first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref had to pull out at the last minute due to the evolving regional situation requiring his presence in Tehran.

From China, Premier Li Qiang will be attending the summit, with his Monday visit to Pakistan being the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years.

Mongolia is participating as an observer state, and Turkmenistan has be­en invited as a special guest.

Representatives from int­e­r­national organisations, inc­luding the Conference on Interaction and Confi­dence Building Measures in Asia, the Commonwealth of Inde­pendent States, and the European Economic Community, are also attending the event.