India to host two-day SCO cyber security seminar on Dec 7-8; Pakistan & China to attend

India will be hosting a two-day cyber security seminar for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries in New Delhi on December 7-8. The event is being organized with the help and support of SCO – Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS). Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan RATS is meant to assist SCO members in fighting terrorism.

Representatives of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan are expected to attend the cyber security seminar hosted by India in New Delhi. The eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organizations. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

Pakistan to attend SCO cyber security seminar hosted by India

Pakistan High Commission in Delhi has confirmed the participation of the country's delegation in the cyber security meet. The Commission informed through a tweet that its Charge d’Affaires Aftab Hasan Khan received the delegation at the mission. The visit by the Pakistani delegation comes amid continued strain in ties between the two countries over a variety of issues.

Bilateral relations between India and Pakistan have been at a standstill for years as India maintained that terror and talks cannot go hand in hand.

However, at multilateral forums, India and Pakistan have been engaging at some levels. In June this year, the National Security Advisors of SCO countries met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. At the meeting, NSA Ajit Doval underlined the need to take action against proscribed terrorists and also called for an action plan to tackle Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish.

India and Pakistan also held talks on the water under the permanent Indus Water Commission in March this year. Last month, India had invited Pakistan for a regional security dialogue on Afghanistan, but it decided to skip the meeting.

(With inputs from agency)