SCO Chairmanship: National coordinators to meet in Islamabad from September 28

The meeting will be the first session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of National Coordinators (CNC) under Pakistan’s chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS), the Foreign Office said.

Pakistan assumed the rotating SCO CHS chairmanship following the organisation’s summit in Bishkek earlier this month. It will host the next SCO Council of Heads of State summit in Islamabad in 2027.

Pakistan’s national coordinator for the SCO will chair the Islamabad meeting, which will bring together national coordinators from other member states and representatives of the SCO Secretariat.

The participants are expected to review the organisation’s programme of activities, preparations for upcoming SCO meetings and events, and other organisational matters.

Pakistan has adopted the theme “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity” for its chairmanship. The Foreign Office says Islamabad will focus on regional connectivity, economic cooperation, innovation and people-to-people contacts during its term.

The country has said it intends to work closely with all SCO member states and the organisation’s secretariat to advance these priorities.

The three-day CNC meeting will provide an early opportunity to coordinate activities planned during Pakistan’s chairmanship and prepare for a series of high-level meetings scheduled during the term.

The main event will be the SCO Council of Heads of State summit, which Pakistan is scheduled to host in Islamabad in 2027. The Foreign Office has confirmed that hosting the summit is the central feature of Pakistan’s 2026–27 chairmanship.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has previously outlined areas of cooperation that Pakistan wants to promote through the SCO, including information technology, artificial intelligence, energy, poverty reduction, disaster management, health, culture and sports.

Pakistan has also recently hosted other SCO meetings in Islamabad. In September, the capital hosted the 46th meeting of the Council of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, bringing together representatives from member states to discuss regional security and cooperation against terrorism, separatism and extremism.

Preparations are also under way in Islamabad for the 2027 SCO summit, including plans to upgrade the Jinnah Convention Centre and improve the availability of internationally standard hotel accommodation for visiting delegations.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said the country’s chairmanship will seek to advance the SCO’s objectives of regional peace and stability, stronger connectivity, economic cooperation and shared development.