KARACHI: Pakistan’s business community will assume the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Business Council in 2027, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said on Saturday after its president attended the regional body’s Business Council board meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, earlier this week.
The SCO Business Council is the private-sector arm of the 10-member Eurasian political, economic and security bloc, bringing together national chambers of commerce and business leaders to promote trade, investment and commercial cooperation among member states.
Pakistan joined the SCO as a full member in 2017 alongside India, expanding a grouping that also includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus.
“The forthcoming chairmanship reflects the confidence of SCO member states in Pakistan’s constructive role within the organization and presents an important opportunity for the country’s business community to contribute to shaping the Council’s future agenda,” the FPCCI said in a statement.
The federation said its delegation also participated in the SCO Business and Investment Forum and business-to-business meetings, while holding bilateral discussions with representatives from member states on trade, investment, technology transfer and industrial cooperation.
The statement said the delegation highlighted Pakistan’s strategic location linking South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, while calling for greater regional connectivity, cross-border trade and private-sector collaboration in sectors including energy, information technology, logistics and infrastructure.
The SCO was established in 2001 and initially focused on regional security before expanding its agenda to include trade, investment and broader economic cooperation.
The Business Council, created in 2006, serves as the SCO’s institutional mechanism for strengthening private-sector collaboration and facilitating commercial partnerships among member states.
Pakistan has increasingly used the SCO platform to deepen economic engagement with Central Asia and other member states, viewing regional connectivity, trade and investment as key pillars of its broader economic diplomacy.
