Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will attend an international conference in India next month, marking the first official visit by a high-ranking Pakistani diplomat to the neighboring country since 2016.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Thursday that the minister will participate in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from the fourth to the fifth of May.

Islamabad suspended trade and diplomatic relations with India in 2019 when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the Muslim-majority part of Kashmir under its control and imposed a tight security lockdown.

The two countries withdrew their senior diplomats, while a number of consular staff from both sides were expelled or withdrawn in reciprocal actions.

While it was not clear whether Bhutto will hold bilateral meetings with Indian officials on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, analysts believe that the visit is of great importance.

"There is a need for broader confidence-building measures for economic cooperation with India, but this is an important historical turning point in Pakistan-India relations," said Islamabad-based analyst Qamar Cheema.

Relations between the two nuclear-armed countries have been cool at their best since they were established after the division of the Indian continent in 1947.
Their dispute in Kashmir led to the outbreak of three wars and numerous skirmishes.

The last visit by a high-ranking diplomat to India was in 2016 when the Prime Minister's Political Affairs Adviser, Sartaj Aziz, went to New Delhi.

India currently holds the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was established in 2001 and is a political, economic and security organization competing with Western institutions.

"Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan's commitment to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization charter and processes and the importance Pakistan attaches to the region in its foreign policy priorities," Baloch said.