Rajnath Singh to represent India at SCO meet in Tajikistan: What's on the agenda?

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will represent India at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of Government meeting to be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The two-day meeting, which begins today, will focus on strengthening multilateral cooperation among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), especially in trade, economy, investment, connectivity, innovation and cultural-humanitarian exchanges, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

India remains actively engaged in various SCO mechanisms and continues to contribute to regional cooperation through initiatives in areas such as startups and innovation, digital public infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges, the statement said.

“Singh will visit Dushanbe to represent India at the 25th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of Government Council (CHG) scheduled for October 19-20,” the ministry said.

Financial and institutional functioning of the organization

The forum is also expected to review the progress of ongoing cooperation initiatives and consider decisions regarding the financial and institutional functioning of the Organization.

The meeting will provide India with an opportunity to exchange views with other SCO member states to advance practical and mutually beneficial cooperation within the organization, the ministry said.

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

The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc that has evolved as one of the largest trans-regional international organizations. It was established at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017. Its other members include Iran and Belarus.

“The meeting will provide an opportunity for India to exchange views with other SCO member states to advance practical and mutually beneficial cooperation within the organization.

In April, Singh attended a meeting of SCO defense ministers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.