Rajnath Singh to represent India at SCO heads of government meeting in Tajikistan

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is to represent India at the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 19 and 20, according to the Ministry of Defence as reported by Greater Kashmir and by IANS in the Morung Express.

The agenda

The ministry said members will work on strengthening multilateral cooperation, mainly in trade, the economy, investment, connectivity, innovation and cultural and humanitarian exchanges. They will also review ongoing cooperation initiatives and take decisions on the organization's financial and institutional functioning.

The ministry said India takes part in several SCO mechanisms, including work on start-ups and innovation, digital public infrastructure, and people-to-people exchanges, and described the meeting as a chance to discuss practical and mutually beneficial cooperation with other members.

The previous meeting of the council was held in Moscow on November 18, 2025. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar represented India there.

The IANS report also noted that the SCO has 10 member states, two observer states (Afghanistan and Mongolia) and 15 dialogue partners. It recalled that in September, Commerce Additional Secretary Yashvir Singh spoke for India at an SCO trade ministers' meeting, also in Dushanbe. According to that report, he urged simpler customs procedures, paperless trade and stronger multimodal connectivity, and called for cooperation on supply chains in agriculture, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and electronics.

Pakistan's delegation

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left for Dushanbe on Monday, October 19, to lead his country's delegation at the invitation of Tajikistan's Prime Minister, Qohir Rasulzoda, according to The Express Tribune and Dawn. Both papers cite Pakistan's Foreign Office, which said the prime ministers of Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and Iran's vice president, would also attend.

The Foreign Office described the council as the SCO's second-highest decision-making body, responsible for guiding economic, financial, trade and connectivity cooperation and for the organization's budget. Dar was scheduled to call on Tajikistan's president and prime minister and to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines. The Express Tribune added that members were expected to adopt a joint communique and other decisions, and that Pakistan chairs the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27 and will host the next summit in Islamabad in 2027.

A difference in the reports

Both Pakistani reports list India's external affairs minister among those attending. The Indian reports, citing the Defence Ministry, say Rajnath Singh will represent India. The reports read do not explain the difference.