ISLAMABAD, OCT 19: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar departed for Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Monday to lead Pakistan’s delegation to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting, scheduled to be held on October 19 and 20.

Besides participating in the proceedings of the meeting, DPM Dar will meet Tajikistan’s leadership and his counterparts from SCO member states on the sidelines of the summit, a statement from the Foreign Office said.

Dar will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the meeting at the invitation of Tajikistan Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda.

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

The Council of Heads of Government is the SCO’s second-highest decision-making institution and provides guidance on a range of areas, including the economy, finance, trade, connectivity, commerce, socio-economic cooperation and the organisation’s budgetary matters.

The meeting will also adopt a joint communique, statements and important decisions.

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