India is taking part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of National Coordinators meeting in Islamabad, with National Coordinator Alok Dimri leading the Indian delegation. The three-day meeting is taking place from September 28 to September 30 as Pakistan will begin its term as chair of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27.
The presence of the Indian delegation in Islamabad is notable as relations between India and Pakistan are still sour. The meeting is being held under the SCO multilateral framework, and is focused on coordination between member states, preparation for upcoming organisational events and implementation of the agenda during Pakistan’s chairmanship.
What is the SCO National Coordinators' meeting?
We have the Council of National Coordinators in the SCO to coordinate the organisation's activities. National coordinators are responsible for meetings and events preparation, for arranging positions and for maintaining the continuity in the SCO programme.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the September meeting would cover the programme of activities under its chairmanship, preparations for upcoming SCO meetings and events, and other matters on the organisation's agenda. The meeting is therefore part of the organisational groundwork for Pakistan's year-long leadership of the grouping.
Pakistan assumed the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27 after the recent SCO summit in Bishkek. Islamabad will now be the organiser of the organisation's programme during its chairmanship and will host the next SCO Council of Heads of State summit in 2027.
Why is India participating in Islamabad?
India's participation is indicative of its SCO membership and the organisation's institutional processes. The National Coordinators' meeting is not a bilateral India-Pakistan dialogue. SCO member states are meeting to discuss the organisation's collective programme.
Such a distinction is significant given the difficult state of India-Pakistan relations. India’s participation does not in itself imply a change of its bilateral position with Pakistan. The delegation is attending a scheduled multilateral meeting where India and Pakistan are participating with other SCO members.
The current meeting is also significant because it marks one of the first major SCO meetings in Islamabad under Pakistan’s 2026-27 chairmanship. ThePrint reported that the Indian delegation is led by MEA Joint Secretary Alok Dimri and described the meeting as an opening engagement of Pakistan’s chairmanship.
India has also been involved in SCO meetings hosted by Pakistan. The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad in October 2024 for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting. But this visit takes place in a different bilateral environment and at a time when relations between the two countries are still limited.
Pakistan's SCO Agenda For 2026-27
Pakistan has announced the theme of its SCO chairmanship as “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity.” Islamabad has said its priorities include regional connectivity, innovation, economic cooperation and people-to-people contacts among SCO members.
The National Coordinators' meeting is an early opportunity to organise the calendar of activities associated with these priorities. Discussions at this level can help prepare the groundwork for ministerial meetings, other SCO events and eventually the summit of heads of state.
The SCO consists of countries like India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus. With such a large membership, coordination among national representatives is needed before issues reach higher-level meetings.
What about the 2027 SCO Summit?
One of the reasons why the Islamabad meeting matters is that Pakistan is scheduled to host the SCO Council of Heads of State summit in Islamabad in August 2027. Pakistan has said that leaders of all SCO member states will be invited, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The National Coordinators’ meeting therefore starts preparations for a much larger diplomatic event. The discussions can help establish the programme, schedule and organisational framework for activities leading up to the summit.
Whether all the leaders will attend future SCO meetings is a different question but Pakistan's chairmanship of the group requires it to coordinate with every member state as part of the organisation's processes.
Why the meeting is important for India-Pakistan relations?
The Islamabad meeting is taking place against the backdrop of strained India-Pakistan relations but the issue is of SCO rather than bilateral negotiations among New Delhi and Islamabad.
That is why India’s participation is significant as a diplomatic matter. The two countries can still have differences on bilateral issues while participating in multilateral organisations in which they are members. The SCO is one such institutional platform, and so are other international forums.
The meeting also demonstrates the practical role of diplomatic engagement at different levels. Ministers or heads of government and state might make key decisions about the agenda but preparatory meetings with national coordinators help make the agenda and organise the follow-up.
For India, participation allows its officials to remain involved in discussions about the SCO's programme, regional connectivity, economic cooperation and other areas covered by the organisation. For Pakistan, the meeting represents the beginning of the organisational work required during its 2026-27 chairmanship.
What is next?
The September 28-30 meeting is expected to support preparations for upcoming SCO events for Pakistan during Pakistan’s chairmanship. The process will eventually lead to the Council of Heads of State Summit in Islamabad in 2027.
For now, India’s presence in Islamabad should be seen through the lens of the multilateral framework of the SCO. The presence of an Indian delegation is not a separate bilateral enterprise with Pakistan. It is the manifestation of India’s continued participation in the SCO’s scheduled institutional activities despite the problems of India-Pakistan relations.
The meeting is important less for any immediate India-Pakistan breakthrough and more for the organisation of the next round of SCO activities, which include the summit for India and Pakistan in 2027 which Pakistan is scheduled to organise.
