Pakistan to Send Climate Minister to Delhi for SCO Dialogue

UPDATE - follow-up to Pakistani Minister to visit India for the first time in three years, as SCO meets: Pakistan has named Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Minister Musadik Masood Malik to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Civilisational Dialogue in New Delhi from November 20 to 22. Dr. Malik will be the first Pakistani Minister to visit India in over three years, following Bilawal Bhutto's trip to Goa in May 2023 for an SCO meeting.

Background

India had originally invited Pakistan's Minister for National Heritage and Culture Aurungzeb Khan Khichi on October 28, but Islamabad chose to send Dr. Malik instead. Dr. Malik previously criticized New Delhi in June over the Indus Waters Treaty being placed in abeyance after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, warning that Pakistan would cut off hands trying to control the Indus waters. Meanwhile, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated on Friday that India and Pakistan share a cultural past and hoped Pakistan would attend the forum, while China, Kazakhstan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have already confirmed their participation.

Context

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance founded in 2001. Cultural dialogues within such multilateral frameworks sometimes provide a platform for diplomatic engagement even when bilateral relations face severe strain.