Rajnath Singh Represents India at SCO Meeting in Tajikistan

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh departed New Delhi on October 19, 2026, for Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to represent India at the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The meeting, scheduled for October 19-20, focuses on strengthening multilateral cooperation among member states in trade, economy, investment, connectivity, innovation, and cultural-humanitarian exchanges.

India intends to use the forum to exchange views on advancing practical cooperation and will contribute through initiatives involving digital public infrastructure, start-ups, and people-to-people exchanges. The SCO will also review progress on existing cooperation initiatives and discuss the organization's financial and institutional functioning.

This session follows the previous CHG meeting held in Moscow on November 18, 2025, where External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar represented India. In a separate development, the Government of Pakistan has indicated it will invite India to the 2027 SCO Summit, which Pakistan is scheduled to host.