Will Afghanistan be able to Attend SCO Later This Month

ISLAMABAD 7 Aug 2025: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit is scheduled to take place in Tianjin, China from August 31 to September 1, 2025.

Sources say that concerns over the Taliban’s participation increased after the United Nations denied a travel exemption to the Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi for a planned visit to Pakistan.

This move has raised further doubts about whether the Taliban will be allowed to attend this important regional summit due to UN-imposed sanctions and travel restrictions.

However, China has begun efforts to facilitate the Taliban’s participation in the conference.

It was expected that China and several other countries might consider recognizing the Taliban regime during the summit. But recent developments and restrictions may have reduced some countries’ willingness to take steps toward formal recognition of the Taliban.

Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will attend the summit and related events. The Tianjin Summit will be the largest one in the history of the SCO.

Indian attendance

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to attend the Shanghai summit which will mark his first visit to China since 2019. 

Amid the ongoing tariff issue with the US, the upcoming visit is expected to recalibrate India’s ties with China and balance its relationship with the US. Meanwhile, China has supported India to retain its strategic autonomy while maintaining relations with other countries. No other country should interfere in the internal matters and can not decide the foreign policy matters of India, China’s spokesperson to India, Yu Xing, said.

Not only India, but the US administration had imposed a 30 percent tariff on China for purchasing Russian oil.