The 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, under the chairmanship of Qohir Rasulzoda, the PM of Tajikistan.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh highlighted that India will host the 1st SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum by the end of 2026. The meeting also resulted in the implementation of the Programme of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation (PMTEC) Action Plan for 2026-2030.
According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2026 titled “No Security Without Food Security” released by Germany-based Welthungerhilfe (WHH), in collaboration with the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) and Helvetas, India is ranked 100th with a score of 24.1, placing it in the “serious” hunger category.
Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, and Croatia are among the 24 countries that recorded scores below 5.0. Moldova and Mongolia secured the 25th and 26th positions respectively, while Somalia is ranked least at 122nd.
Pakistan has been named the incoming chair of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group for 2027, during their annual meetings held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ahad Khan Cheema, the World Bank Governor from Pakistan, was designated as the incoming chair.
PM Narendra Modi represented India at the 26th edition of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) Summit and the ‘SCO Plus’ meeting held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The summit, marking the 25th anniversary of the organisation, was chaired by the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov under the motto “25 Years of the SCO; Together for Sustainable Peace, Development and Prosperity”.
The event concluded with the adoption of the ‘Bishkek Declaration’ and 28 other documents, including 4 MoUs. The declaration featured various initiatives led or supported by India. On the sidelines, the ‘SCO Plus’ meeting was organised under the theme “The UN as a Key Element of a Just World Order: The Contribution of the SCO Plus States to the Formation of a Multipolar World”.
The presidency of the SCO for the 2026-27 term was handed over to Pakistan, which will operate under the theme “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity”. Lahore (Pakistan) has been named the tourism and cultural capital of the SCO for the 2026-27 period.
Dr Jal Ratanji Patel (a physician) and Dr Jal Dhaybho-Koo (a radiologist), Mumbai-based Parsi doctors, have been nominated for the “Nishan-e-Imtiaz”, the highest civilian award of Pakistan.
The nomination is given recognising their role in maintaining the confidentiality of the terminal illness of Muhammad Ali Jinnah prior to the Partition of India in 1947.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye have signed a mutual defence pact named the ‘Mecca Joint Defence Agreement’.
Under the foundational principle of the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the 3 signatory states will be treated as an attack against all three.
Pakistan is set to host the 14th edition of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in March 2027. The multi-sport event is expected to feature athletes from 8 South Asian nations.
It is to be noted that the SAF Games were established in 1981 in New Delhi to promote friendship and goodwill among the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The SAARC member countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has launched the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite–Earth Observation-3 (PRSC-EO3) of Pakistan onboard the Long March-6 rocket.
The mission, conducted from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi, China, successfully placed the satellite into its designated orbit. It is to be noted that this marks the 640th mission of the Long March series of rockets.
