Rajnath Singh to represent India at SCO heads of government meet in Tajikistan
The October meeting in Dushanbe will focus on trade, connectivity and investment as India pushes for lower trade costs and stronger supply chains.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh will visit Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 19 and 20 to represent India at the 25th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of Heads of Government.
The meeting will focus on strengthening multilateral cooperation among SCO member states in trade, economy, investment, connectivity, innovation and cultural-humanitarian exchanges, according to news agency ANI, citing the Ministry of Defence.
Participating countries are expected to review ongoing cooperation initiatives and consider decisions related to the organisation’s financial and institutional functioning. The agenda will cover trade and investment cooperation, transport and logistics, industrial cooperation, the creative and digital economy, innovation and financial interaction, according to Interfax, which cited the Russian trade mission in Tajikistan.
India has highlighted the need to expand intra-SCO trade, lower trade costs, strengthen supply chains and improve connectivity. At a September meeting of SCO ministers responsible for foreign economic and trade activities in Dushanbe, India called for simplified customs procedures, paperless trade, electronic document exchange and stronger multimodal connectivity, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. India also highlighted opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, electronics, energy security, renewable energy and green hydrogen, and called for greater use of digital and cross-border payments and improved access to trade finance for micro, small and medium enterprises and start-ups.
The October meeting will provide India an opportunity to exchange views with other SCO member states on advancing practical and mutually beneficial cooperation. The previous meeting of the Council of Heads of Government was held in Moscow on November 18, 2025, where India was represented by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, according to ANI.
Separately, the Congress on Friday (October 16, 2026) said regime change in India always happens through elections and seeking it is not wrong, responding to Rajnath Singh’s allegation that Congress and its allies want a Bangladesh-like regime change in the country by creating “anarchy through street protests”.
Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh invoked former president Pranab Mukherjee’s description of the Opposition’s job in a democracy: “The Defence Minister needs to be reminded of what former President Pranab Mukherjee, who was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2019, would often say: the job of the Opposition in a democracy is to oppose, expose and depose,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
Pawan Khera, who heads the Congress’s publicity and media wing, said the Congress does not need to look at Bangladesh or Nepal as models and questioned why Rajnath Singh was making the allegation. He said regime change in India happens through elections, according to The Hindu.
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Sources and context
- Trade & connectivity in focus: Rajnath Singh to represent India at SCO meet in TajikistanThe Times of India
- Regime change in India happens through elections, seeking it not wrong: Congress on Rajnath Singh’s remarksThe Hindu
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.