New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the 21st meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) to be held on November 1 in a virtual format.

"The 21st Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) will be held on 1 November 2022 in the virtual format. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will represent India in the meeting," the MEA said in a statement.

The SCO CHG meeting held annually focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the Organization and approves its annual budget.

"The meeting will be attended by SCO Member States, Observer States, Secretary General of the SCO, Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), Turkmenistan and other invited guests," the ministry said.

The statement said India remains actively engaged in various SCO activities and dialogue mechanisms in the region as well as other multilateral cooperation within the SCO framework.

The leaders of the SCO member states met last month for the summit meeting at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16.

The meeting, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated, adopted Samarkand Declaration. The members states also called for improvement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization activities and the development of efficient transport corridors for interconnectivity.

The SCO is an eight-member multilateral organization, established in 2001 in Shanghai, China.

The Council of Heads of States is the apex decision-making body in the SCO. The Council of Heads of Governments is the second-highest council in the organization.