SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum: India invites all SCO members, including Pakistan
Synopsis
India has invited all 10 SCO members — including Pakistan — along with 15 dialogue partners and one observer to the first-ever SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi from 20-22 November 2026. Pakistan's Culture Minister has reportedly been invited, and if he attends, it would be the first ministerial visit from Islamabad to India since 2023 — making this cultural forum a quietly significant diplomatic moment.
Key Takeaways
India has invited all 10 SCO member states , 15 dialogue partners , and 1 observer to the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi .
The forum is scheduled for 20 to 22 November 2026 at Purana Quila , a historic 16th-century fort in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the event, which will see representatives from more than 25 countries .
Pakistan's Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurungzeb Khan Khichi , has reportedly been invited; Islamabad has yet to confirm attendance.
If a Pakistani minister attends, it would be the first such visit to India since the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Goa in 2023 .
The forum initiative was proposed by PM Modi at the SCO leaders' summit in Tianjin in 2025 and adopted by the grouping.
India has extended invitations to all Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states, dialogue partners, and one observer state for the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum, set to be held in New Delhi from 20 to 22 November 2026, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Wednesday.
The clarification came from MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi on 28 October 2026, in response to a direct question on whether Pakistan had been included in the invitation list.
What the MEA Said
'As per established practice, we have invited all SCO members. We have also invited dialogue partners and one observer to the SCO. They have been invited for the forum, Civilisational Dialogue Forum meeting, which will be held in New Delhi on 20th to 22nd of November, 2026,' Jaiswal stated.
The SCO currently comprises 10 member states — Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — along with 15 dialogue partners including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Sri Lanka. The grouping has two observer states: Afghanistan and Mongolia.
Pakistan's Minister Invited, Attendance Unconfirmed
Diplomatic sources have confirmed that India has specifically invited Pakistan's Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurungzeb Khan Khichi, for the three-day event. Islamabad has yet to confirm who will represent it at the forum.
Notably, if Minister Khichi attends, it would mark the first visit by a Pakistani minister to India since the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Goa in 2023, which was attended by Pakistan's then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto. The significance of any such visit cannot be understated given the persistently strained state of India-Pakistan bilateral ties.
Forum Venue and Key Participants
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the forum, which is projected to bring together representatives from more than 25 countries at Purana Quila, the historic 16th-century fort in the national capital. The Ministry of Culture is partnering with the MEA to organise the event.
The choice of Purana Quila as the venue is widely seen as a deliberate signal — underscoring India's emphasis on its historical and civilisational continuum at a major multilateral cultural gathering. Discussions are expected to cover civilisational linkages, cultural diplomacy, and collaborative initiatives in heritage, education, and traditional knowledge systems.
Background and India-Pakistan SCO Engagement
The initiative was originally proposed by Prime Minister Modi at the SCO leaders' summit in Tianjin in 2025 and was subsequently adopted by the grouping. This is the first time the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum is being hosted, with India holding the distinction of being the inaugural host.
This comes amid an otherwise cautious diplomatic posture between New Delhi and Islamabad. Despite strained bilateral relations, India has continued to engage with Pakistan within the SCO framework. In September 2026, India sent its SCO National Coordinator Alok Dimri to Islamabad for a meeting ahead of Pakistan's upcoming presidency of the grouping and the planned SCO leaders' summit scheduled for August 2027.
The forum will be a critical test of whether cultural diplomacy can serve as a bridge even when political channels remain frozen — and whether Pakistan chooses to send a minister-level representative will be closely watched as a diplomatic signal in its own right.
Point of View
We have invited all SCO members' — is diplomatic language doing heavy lifting. It extends an invitation to Pakistan while insulating the government from any perception of a bilateral outreach, which would be politically sensitive domestically. The real story is not the invitation but whether Islamabad accepts: a ministerial visit would be the warmest signal between the two countries since Bilawal Bhutto's Goa trip in 2023, arriving against a backdrop of no direct talks and unresolved tensions. India's consistent use of the SCO framework to maintain a minimum functional channel with Pakistan — without normalising relations — is a studied strategy, and the Civilisational Dialogue Forum is its latest expression. Whether cultural diplomacy can outlast political frost is the question New Delhi is quietly testing.
NationPress
28 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum being held in New Delhi?
The SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum is the first multilateral cultural event of its kind under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation framework, to be held at Purana Quila in New Delhi from 20 to 22 November 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the forum, which will bring together representatives from more than 25 countries to discuss civilisational linkages, cultural diplomacy, and heritage initiatives.
Has India invited Pakistan to the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum?
Yes. India has invited all SCO member states, including Pakistan, as part of its standard practice of extending invitations to all members and dialogue partners. Diplomatic sources confirm that Pakistan's Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurungzeb Khan Khichi, has specifically been invited, though Islamabad has not yet confirmed attendance.
Why is Pakistan's potential attendance at the SCO forum significant?
If Pakistan's Culture Minister Aurungzeb Khan Khichi attends, it would mark the first visit by a Pakistani minister to India since the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Goa in 2023, when Bilawal Bhutto represented Islamabad. This would be a notable diplomatic development given the deeply strained state of India-Pakistan bilateral relations.
Where did the idea for the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum originate?
The initiative was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SCO leaders' summit in Tianjin in 2025 and was subsequently adopted by the grouping. India, as the first host of this forum, is organising it jointly through the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of External Affairs.
How has India engaged with Pakistan within the SCO framework recently?
Despite strained bilateral ties, India has maintained engagement with Pakistan through the SCO channel. In September 2026, India sent its SCO National Coordinator Alok Dimri to Islamabad for a meeting ahead of Pakistan's upcoming SCO presidency and the planned SCO leaders' summit in August 2027.
