ISLAMABAD, Apr 20: Pakistan on Thursday announced that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would travel to India next month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, a development that could provide an opportunity to break the ice between the two neighbours.“Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch announced at a weekly media briefing here, ending weeks-long speculation if he would attend the conference in person amidst major differences between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.She said the foreign minister would be attending the meeting as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had invited him to attend the SCO moot.“Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities,” Baloch said.It would be the highest-level visit to India by any Pakistani leader in recent years and a possible opportunity to break the ice between the two nations.
