SCO conclave 2023: Jaishankar unlikely to hold talks with Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is unlikely to sit for bilateral talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhtutto-Zardari at a beach resort in Goa on Thursday on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). People familiar with the development cited that there is no plan yet for a structured bilateral meeting but they did not rule out a pull-aside between the two leaders.

As per the current plan, Jaishankar is set to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang and Russia's Sergey Lavrov amid rapidly evolving regional security situation.

Qin, Lavrov, Bhutto-Zardari and foreign ministers of other SCO countries are arriving in Goa on Thursday to attend a conclave of the SCO. The meet comes months ahead of the annual summit of the grouping in the first week of July.

First visit by any Pakistan minister since 2011

Bhutto-Zardari's trip to India will be the first visit from Islamabad since 2011. The then Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar visited India that year.

India has been maintaining that Pakistan must show seriousness towards fighting terrorism and that talks and terror cannot go together.

India-China talks 

In the talks with Qin, Jaishankar is once again expected to convey that India-China ties cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas, people familiar with the matter said.

The bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Qin will be the second one in the last two months. The Chinese foreign minister visited India in March to attend a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Jaishankar held talks with Qin during which he conveyed to his Chinese counterpart that the state of India-China relations is "abnormal" because of the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.

The two-day SCO foreign ministerial meeting will begin with a gala reception at a luxury beach resort in Goa on Thursday while the main deliberations will take place on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies)