Bilawal Bhutto attends SCO meeting in Goa; Pakistan ‘satisfied’ with Indian welcome

• Indian FM Jaishankar welcomed Bilawal Bhutto to SCO moot.
• “India has not given us a chance to complain,” said the FO spokesperson.
• Baloch says Bilawal’s handshake with Jaishankar is “routine formality”.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar welcomed Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday as he arrived at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Goa.

The meeting of the CFM was supposed to start in the morning and by noon the “decision document” will be signed, followed by a working lunch.

FM Bilawal — who leads the country’s delegation — arrived in Goa on Thursday to attend the SCO CFM’s two-day meeting.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mumtaz Zehra Baloch said India has not given Pakistan any reason to complain about Bilawal’s visit to attend the SCO moot in Goa.

“They didn’t give us a chance to complain. So far everything is good,” she said as she spoke Geo news in an exclusive interview.

When asked if Bilawal’s handshake with his Indian counterpart Jaishankar was a reflection of the bitterness of the past, Baloch said, “You place great importance on it. It was a routine formality.”

A day before, Bilawal arrived in the Indian city on his first-ever visit to India, hoping for a “successful” meeting of SCO foreign ministers.

After his arrival, Bilawal became the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit the neighboring country after a gap of nearly 12 years.

After landing in Goa, the Foreign Minister told the media, “I am glad to have arrived here in Goa to attend the SCO meeting. I hope the SCO CFM will be a success.”

The spokesman continued Geo news that a host welcomed Bilawal as they did for other foreign ministers.

Responding to a question about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to India in July to attend the SCO summit, the FO spokesman said it is too early to comment at this time.

During the visit, Bilawal – together with his delegation – will talk to some of his counterparts from different countries.

In a video message he posted on Twitter, the foreign minister said he would meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. He will then meet with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov.

After the meetings, Bilawal will attend a dinner attended by foreign ministers from all countries. He will then contact media personnel for interviews.