India has invited all 10 member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), including Pakistan, to participate in the inaugural SCO Civilizational Dialogue Forum, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from 20 to 22 November.
The event is intended to deepen cultural engagement, encourage people-to-people connections and promote greater mutual understanding among SCO countries.
The invitation has drawn attention because it marks the first formal invitation extended to a senior Pakistani minister by India since the launch of Operation Sindoor in May 2025. The military operation was undertaken in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and led to a further deterioration in already strained relations between the two neighbouring countries.
Diplomatic sources indicated that Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, has been invited to attend the forum. Should he accept the invitation and travel to India, it would be the first visit by a senior Pakistani minister since former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa in May 2023.
The announcement regarding the dialogue forum was made by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 20 October. Addressing representatives of member nations, Singh confirmed that invitations had been extended to all SCO countries for the inaugural gathering.
“At the end of this year, India will host the first SCO Civilisation Dialogue Forum. We invite all SCO countries to participate in it,” Singh said.
The proposed forum reflects a broader SCO emphasis on fostering cultural exchanges alongside economic, political and security cooperation. The initiative is expected to provide a platform for discussions on heritage, civilisation, cultural preservation and intercultural engagement among participating nations.
During the same meeting, Singh reiterated India’s long-standing position on terrorism, urging member states to adopt a consistent and uncompromising approach. Stressing the need for collective action, he said, “There should be no double standards in dealing with terrorism, and no place for those who finance, support or provide safe havens to terrorists. The entire ecosystem of terrorism must be firmly and collectively dismantled.”
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ishaq Dar, was present during the meeting where these remarks were delivered, underscoring the continuing interaction between the two countries within multilateral forums despite bilateral tensions.
Pakistan currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for the 2026-27 term, having assumed the position on 1 September following the summit in Bishkek. The development places Islamabad in a significant role within the organisation even as political and security-related differences with New Delhi persist.
The SCO currently comprises 10 member states: Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India became a full member of the Eurasian grouping in 2017. Afghanistan and Mongolia remain observer states, while the organisation also includes 15 dialogue partners, highlighting its growing regional and international influence.
The invitation to Pakistan for the New Delhi forum signals India’s willingness to continue engaging through multilateral platforms under the SCO framework, even as broader bilateral relations remain affected by security concerns and unresolved diplomatic differences.