New Delhi: India has invited Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) first Civilisational Dialogue Forum, scheduled to take place in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, marking a rare opportunity for high level engagement between the neighbouring countries amid strained bilateral relations.
Pakistan's Federal Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, is among the officials invited to the gathering, according to Indian media reports citing diplomatic sources. Islamabad has yet to confirm whether the minister will attend or who will represent Pakistan.
The three day forum is expected to bring together representatives from more than 25 countries, including SCO member states, observers and dialogue partners. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the event at Purana Qila, a historic fort in New Delhi.
Organised jointly by India's ministries of culture and external affairs, the forum will focus on cultural heritage, historical connections, traditional knowledge and cooperation in education and the arts.
Why has Pakistan been invited?
Pakistan's invitation forms part of India's wider engagement with the SCO, which requires the host country to extend invitations to fellow member states. Indian officials have maintained that the invitation should be viewed within the multilateral framework rather than as an indication of a change in bilateral relations.
The SCO comprises 10 member countries: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. The Civilisational Dialogue Forum was proposed by Modi during the SCO leaders' summit in Tianjin, China, in September 2025. India formally announced its plans to host the gathering during the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 20, 2026.
Diplomatic engagement despite tensions
The invitation comes against the backdrop of deteriorated relations between Pakistan and India following their military confrontation in May 2025. The confrontation followed an attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, after which India launched military strikes against targets in Pakistan. Islamabad rejected India's allegations of involvement in the attack.
Despite their differences, both countries have continued participating in SCO meetings.
In October 2024, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, becoming the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in nine years.
More recently, India's SCO National Coordinator Alok Dimri visited Islamabad in September 2026 for consultations ahead of Pakistan's forthcoming leadership role in the organisation. If Khichi attends the November forum, he would become the first Pakistani minister to visit India since then-foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended an SCO meeting in Goa in May 2023.
The proposed gathering illustrates how multilateral institutions can maintain channels of communication between countries whose bilateral relations remain limited.
Unlike security focused SCO meetings, the Civilisational Dialogue Forum will concentrate on cultural exchange and shared historical traditions, providing an opportunity for participating states to discuss cooperation outside contentious political issues. However, Pakistan's participation, if confirmed, would not necessarily indicate progress towards the restoration of bilateral dialogue.
The immediate significance of the meeting lies in the continuation of diplomatic engagement through a regional institution, even as substantive political differences between Islamabad and New Delhi remain unresolved.
