Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to attend SCO Goa meet next month

New Delhi/Islamabad, Apr 21 Pakistan on Thursday announced that its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would be attending the SCO meeting of Foreign Ministers being held in May in Goa.
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry in a tweet saidthat Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will lead the Pakistani delegation to the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting being held on May 4-5 inGoa, India.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Bilawal’s“ participation in the Meeting reflects Pakistan’s continued commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities”.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi declined to comment, saying it would not be appropriate to focus on participation by any one country.
He said India has been inviting all SCO member states for events related to India’s presidency of the grouping.
Regarding the Goa meeting of SCO Foreign Ministers, the MEA spokesperson said that India has extended similar invites to all members states and looks forward to a successful meeting.
Asked about a possible bilateral meeting with the Pakistani Foreign Minister, the MEA spokesperson said it would be premature to say anything at this juncture, and added that EAM Jaishankar usually tries to hold as many bilateral meetings during such multilateral events, and that it would not be right to comment.