New Delhi is preparing to host a guest it has not welcomed in years. India has invited Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, to the first Civilisational Dialogue Forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which will be held at Delhi’s Purana Qila from November 20 to 22.
The invitation, reported on Tuesday, marks the first time since 2023 that India has invited a Pakistani minister to an event on Indian soil. It is also the first such invitation since the four-day military conflict between the two countries in May 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan has not yet confirmed who will lead its delegation, diplomatic sources said. If Khichi attends, his visit will be watched closely in both capitals, not for what is said on stage, but for what his presence itself signals about engagement inside a multilateral forum when bilateral ties remain frozen.
A first for the SCO, and a first since Goa
The Civilisational Dialogue Forum is a new format for the 10-nation SCO grouping. Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed it at the SCO leaders’ summit in Tianjin in September 2025, and the grouping later adopted the idea. India will now host the inaugural edition, with the Ministry of Culture organising the event jointly with the Ministry of External Affairs. Modi is expected to inaugurate the forum.
Culture ministers from all 10 SCO member states, including China, Russia, Iran and Belarus, along with Central Asian states, have been invited. Representatives from observer countries and dialogue partners have also been invited, taking the total participation to more than 25 countries.
The last Pakistani minister to visit India was Bilawal Bhutto, then Pakistan’s foreign minister, who travelled to Goa in May 2023 for a meeting of SCO foreign ministers. No Pakistani minister has visited since. That gap is what makes this invitation stand out, even though it comes with a clear multilateral logic: as host of an SCO event, India is expected to invite representatives from every member country.
Why Purana Qila
The choice of venue is deliberate. Purana Qila, the 16th-century fort built by Emperor Humayun, sits in the heart of Delhi and is known for excavations that trace layers of settlement across centuries. Officials cited in reports on the event pointed to that long history as the reason for holding a dialogue on shared civilisations there.
The forum is expected to focus on people-to-people ties and cultural engagement across Eurasia, with discussions on shared heritage, art, literature and traditions. The emphasis, at least on paper, is cultural rather than political.
The road to November
The announcement of the Delhi event itself came only days ago. According to The Indian Express, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh formally announced that India would host the forum while addressing the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 20.
Engagement through the SCO has continued even during the worst phases of the bilateral relationship. In September this year, India sent its SCO National Coordinator, Alok Dimri, to Islamabad for a planning meeting ahead of Pakistan’s presidency of the grouping. Pakistan is scheduled to host the SCO leaders’ summit in August 2027.
For now, the practical questions are who Pakistan will send, and whether Khichi himself travels to Delhi. Those answers will come in the next few weeks.
What happens next
- India awaits confirmation from Pakistan on who will lead its delegation to the November 20 to 22 forum.
- Final details of the programme at Purana Qila, including sessions and participants, are expected to be shared closer to the event.
- Attention will turn to whether the forum produces any joint cultural initiatives on heritage, education or traditional knowledge.
FAQs
When will the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum be held?
The forum will be held in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, 2026, at Purana Qila.
Who has India invited from Pakistan?
India has invited Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi. Pakistan has not yet confirmed its delegation.
Why is this invitation significant?
It is the first invitation to a Pakistani minister since Bilawal Bhutto visited Goa in May 2023, and the first since the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025.
Who proposed the dialogue forum?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the forum at the SCO leaders’ summit in Tianjin in September 2025. He is expected to inaugurate the Delhi edition.
How many countries will take part?
Culture ministers from the 10 SCO member states have been invited, along with observer and dialogue partner countries, taking total participation to more than 25 countries.
Delhi will know soon enough whether the invitation becomes a visit. Until then, the guest list alone has already made the November forum one of the most closely watched diplomatic dates on India’s calendar.
