India invites Pakistani minister to SCO cultural forum in first such visit since 2023
New Delhi: India has extended an invitation to Pakistan’s National Heritage and Culture Minister, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, for the inaugural Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum, to be hosted in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, the Hindu reported.
The move could pave the way for the first visit by a Pakistani minister to India in more than two years, and the first since the two countries fought a four-day military conflict in May 2025.
If Khichi travels to Delhi, his visit would be the first by a Pakistani minister since then-foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa in May 2023.
The invitation signals that New Delhi is prepared to keep cultural and multilateral channels open with Islamabad, even as broader bilateral ties remain strained after last year’s conflict.
Pakistan has not yet said whether Khichi will attend or who will lead its delegation.
The three-day Civilisational Dialogue Forum will take place at Delhi’s Purana Qila and will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of External Affairs are jointly organising the event.
Culture ministers from all 10 SCO member countries have been invited, including those from Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, Belarus, and Central Asian states. Delegates from 15 dialogue partners and observer countries will also take part.
Despite frozen bilateral ties, both countries continue to interact through the SCO. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad in November 2024 for the SCO Heads of Government meeting.
More recently, in September 2026, India sent SCO National Coordinator Alok Dimri to Islamabad for discussions connected to Pakistan’s SCO presidency and preparations for the leaders’ summit.
Pakistan is scheduled to host the SCO Heads of State Summit in August 2027, though India has not yet disclosed how senior its delegation will be.