Over 20 World Leaders to Attend SCO Summit in Tianjin
More than 20 world leaders and heads of 10 international organisations will take part in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and related events, which will be held in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. The announcement was made on July 15 by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
During a joint press conference with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, Wang confirmed that the summit will take place from August 31 to September 1.
On the same day, Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chaired a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Tianjin.
Participants included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, and Ulubek Sharsheev, Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
China Urges Stronger Unity and Reform within SCO
Wang Yi called on SCO member states to enhance consensus on strengthening the organisation, urging a sense of historical and future responsibility. He presented five proposals for further development of the SCO.
He stressed that members should remain true to the organisation’s founding goals, uphold the Shanghai Spirit, reinforce security cooperation, pursue mutual benefit and development, foster friendship and neighbourliness, and uphold fairness and justice.
Wang also thanked the member states for supporting China’s work as the rotating chair and expressed confidence that joint efforts would lead the organisation into a new phase of high-quality growth.
Participants at the ministerial meeting commended China’s performance as SCO chair and the positive outcomes achieved under its leadership. They expressed readiness to continue cooperating closely with China to ensure the success of the Tianjin summit.
Kursiv also reports that regional authorities of Central Asian states are increasingly challenged by the dual threat of heroin smuggling and the rapid spread of synthetic drugs.
