India to Host SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi

India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum from November 20-22 at the Purana Quila in New Delhi. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced that 15 of the 25 invited nations have confirmed their participation, including China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Nepal, and Turkiye. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who originally proposed the forum during the September 2025 SCO summit in Tianjin, is scheduled to attend the inaugural ceremony on November 20.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of External Affairs, the forum seeks to expand the SCO's scope beyond geopolitics and economics to emphasize shared civilisational heritage, human values, and people-to-people ties. The event will consist of four sessions focusing on cultural expressions, art and architecture, language and literature, and religious and philosophical traditions. Participants will also discuss multinational nominations for UNESCO sites.

In a significant diplomatic gesture, India extended an invitation to Pakistan's National Heritage and Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi. This represents the first invitation sent to a senior Pakistani minister since military hostilities occurred in May of the previous year during Operation Sindoor.