Pakistan takes over SCO Interbank Consortium chair for 2026-27

Pakistan has assumed the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Interbank Consortium (SCO-IBC) for 2026-27, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday, Dawn and The Express Tribune reported.

HBL Chairman Sultan Ali Allana has taken over as head of the consortium for the term.

Two chairs at once

The ministry said the development coincides with Pakistan’s chairmanship of the SCO itself for the same period, “reflecting the country’s role in promoting regional trade, investment, financial connectivity and economic cooperation”.

It congratulated Allana and said Pakistan remained committed to “strengthening economic partnerships among SCO member states, facilitating cross-border trade and investment, and advancing regional integration and shared prosperity”.

What the consortium does

The SCO-IBC is a platform for financial cooperation among banks from SCO member states. Set up in 2005, it aims to support investment projects, help arrange financing and strengthen banking ties across the region, and to explore new ways of developing large cross-border projects. Pakistan is represented in it by Habib Bank Limited (HBL).

Pakistan’s growing SCO role

Pakistan is set to host the next meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State, after taking over the organisation’s chairmanship in September. The Dawn report adds:

• Membership: Pakistan became a full member in 2017, after being an observer since 2005.
• Hosting: it hosted the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad in October 2024, which brought delegations from all 10 members, eight of them led by prime ministers.
• Other roles: it chairs the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure for 2025-26, and permanently chairs a working group on poverty alleviation.

Pakistan has also held a joint anti-terrorism exercise with China at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Pabbi in 2021, an SCO seminar on military medicine in Rawalpindi in March 2024, and meetings on regional transport connectivity and poverty alleviation under the SCO framework, The Express Tribune reported.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said Pakistan’s membership has grown from observer status to “proactive full membership” and that the chairmanship reflects the confidence placed in Pakistan’s leadership. Earlier this autumn, Dar urged the SCO to turn its shared vision into results, and Islamabad has planned its first coordinators’ meeting of the chairmanship, with a 2027 summit ahead.

Why it matters

For Pakistan’s banks and businesses, a chair role gives Islamabad a say in how the consortium sets priorities, such as which regional trade and infrastructure projects it supports. The SCO has widened its agenda from security to economic development and connectivity, so banking links are becoming part of its work.

What we know, and what we don’t

• Known: Pakistan holds the consortium chair for 2026-27, and Allana is the chairman.
• Known: Pakistan also holds the SCO chair and will host the heads-of-state meeting.
• Unknown: the consortium’s specific plans or projects during Pakistan’s term, which the Finance Ministry did not list.
• Unknown: the date of the heads-of-state meeting in Pakistan.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and The Express Tribune.