New Delhi: India has invited all member countries, dialogue partners, and one observer country to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) first Civilizational Dialogue Forum to be held in New Delhi in November. The Ministry of External Affairs announced this on Wednesday.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made this statement during the biweekly press briefing in New Delhi. He was asked whether India had also extended an invitation to Pakistan for this forum.
Jaiswal replied, “As per established tradition, we have invited all member countries of the SCO. In addition, the organization’s dialogue partners and one observer have also been invited.” He added that the meeting will be held in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, 2026.
Pakistan’s Culture Minister Also Invited
The SCO comprises 10 member countries, including Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The organization also includes 15 dialogue partners and two observer countries: Afghanistan and Mongolia.
Earlier, diplomatic sources confirmed that India had also invited Pakistan’s Minister of National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, to attend the event.
However, Pakistan has not yet clarified who will represent it at the forum. If Khichi does come to India, it will be the first visit by a Pakistani minister to India since the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Goa in 2023. Bilawal Bhutto, Pakistan’s then Foreign Minister, attended that meeting.
PM Modi May Inaugurate the Three-Day Forum
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the three-day forum. Delegates from more than 25 countries are expected to attend. The event will be held at the historic 16th-century Purana Qila in the capital, Delhi.
The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of External Affairs are jointly organizing the event. The choice of Purana Qila as the venue is seen as an effort to showcase India’s historical and civilizational heritage.
The forum is expected to discuss civilizational ties between countries, cultural diplomacy, and enhancing cooperation in the fields of heritage, education, and traditional knowledge systems.
PM Modi proposed in 2025
The Civilizational Dialogue Forum was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SCO Leaders’ Summit held in Tianjin in 2025. The organization subsequently accepted the proposal.
Despite strained relations between India and Pakistan, the two countries remain engaged on the SCO platform. In September 2026, India sent the organization’s National Coordinator, Alok Dimri, to Islamabad. The visit came ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming SCO chairmanship and preparations for the organisation’s leaders’ summit scheduled for August 2027.