Pakistan minister likely to visit India between Nov 20-22 for SCO dialogue

Pakistan’s climate minister Musadik Masood Malik is likely to visit India later this month after he was nominated to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) civilizational dialogue in Delhi, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

Announcing the minister's nomination for the event, Pakistan said it ‘remains committed to promoting dialogue among civilisations and fostering people-to-people contacts within the SCO framework in a spirit of mutual respect.’

If Malik visits India, this could be a Pakistani minister’s first visit to the neighouring country in more than three years. The ties between the two arch-rivals worsened in April 2025 following a terrorist attack in J&K’s Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed. In response to the attack, India launched a military action against terror launchpads in Pakistan between May 6 and 7 under Operation Sindoor. The military face-off between India and Pakistan ended with a ceasefire on May 9.

On Friday, India confirmed that invites for the upcoming civilisational dialogue forum had been sent to several nations, including all 10 member states of the SCO that also included Pakistan. The event is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from November 20 to 22.

Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that preparations are underway for the event in Delhi.

"Several countries, including the SCO members, have been invited to this dialogue, which is to take place in New Delhi, and that is where it is. We look forward to hosting this Civilizational Dialogue," Jaiswal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The inaugural session of the SCO civilizational dialogue forum, an initiative proposed by India to foster cultural exchange and people-to-people ties across Eurasia, is scheduled to be held in New Delhi later this month.

Alongside full SCO member states, India has also invited dialogue partners and observer countries to participate in the forum.