IRIA News

Top diplomats from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states held their regular meeting on May 21, 2024, in Astana, Kazakhstan. The meeting comes as a run-up to the upcoming meeting of the SCO leaders, scheduled for July.

The foreign ministers and top diplomats from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Belarus, India, Iran, and Tajikistan attended the session. SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and representatives from SCO observer states were also present during the meeting.

The meeting began with a minute of silence to honor Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday in the mountainous East Azerbaijan Province.

Iranian Foreign Minister was scheduled to attend the meeting, however, due to his unfortunate demise Iran is being represented by Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari.

The heads of delegations discussed preparations for the group’s summit which is scheduled to be held on July 3-4 this year. The meeting also focused on current international and regional issues and the prospects for the association’s further development and adaptation to the emerging new world order.

🔹 Президент Қасым-Жомарт Тоқаевтың ШЫҰ-ға мүше мемлекеттердің Сыртқы істер министрлерімен кездесуі

🔸 Встреча Президента Касым-Жомарта Токаева с министрами иностранных дел государств – членов ШОС pic.twitter.com/RsDNx03Eif

— President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's Press Office (@aqorda_press) May 21, 2024

The foreign ministers exchanged views on a wide range of topics covering political, trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian aspects. The discussions fostered a deeper understanding and collaborative strategies to address common challenges and opportunities in these areas.

“As a result of the meeting, 22 decisions concerning multilateral cooperation in the political and diplomatic, trade, cultural, and humanitarian fields were adopted. The report of the SCO secretary-general on the work of the secretariat for the period from May 2023 to May this year was approved,” the association’s secretary-general Zhang Ming said in his statement.

Zhang Ming also noted that the SCO will encourage humanitarian exchanges to strengthen mutual understanding between the people of the organization’s member states.

Strengthening cooperation among SCO members

During the opening session of the meeting, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said “The cooperation program agreed with you on the fight against terrorism, separatism, and extremism is a concrete step in this direction. In turn, the completion of work on the SCO’s anti-narcotics strategy will strengthen mutual measures to combat the drug threat, including the blocking of terrorist financing channels.“

Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu noted that the SCO has gained the status of an effective platform for multidisciplinary cooperation over almost a quarter of a century of its development. “The fundamental principles of the Shanghai spirit – good neighborliness, friendship, and mutual support – have become the hallmark of our organization,” he said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged member states to maintain unity, cooperation, inclusivity, and openness, emphasizing the importance of these values in advancing a robust and fortified Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Wang Yi put forward four proposals with the aim of more effective cooperation among the member states.

Wang emphasized the importance of strategic independence, unity, and cooperation among SCO member states, urging respect for each other’s core interests and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

He urged member states to enhance common security and coordination, proposing improvements in the SCO’s security response mechanisms and deepening security exchanges and cooperation.

Wang stressed the significance of pursuing mutual benefits and cooperative development, highlighting China’s readiness to align the Belt and Road Initiative with member states’ development strategies for shared prosperity. He called for maintaining openness, inclusiveness, and cultural exchanges to strengthen long-lasting friendships across generations within the SCO.

Президент Касым-Жомарт Токаев провел встречу с министрами иностранных дел государств – членов ШОС https://t.co/U75urIaWQM pic.twitter.com/sA5DWlS3B3

— President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's Press Office (@aqorda_press) May 21, 2024

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also stressed deepening ties between the SCO economies amid increasing attempts from the Western world to destabilize the Eurasian region. According to Lavrov, NATO and EU officials are seeking to introduce their institutions in Eurasia and make the countries of the region obey their rules. He noted that Western institutions were “luring” Eurasian nations into anti-Russian activities in the fields of economy and security.

China’s Wang Yi meets Russia’s Lavrov

Foreign ministers of China and Russia held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit. Wang hailed President Vladimir Putin’s first state visit to China in his new term as a complete success. He stressed that by centering around the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, China is ready to work with Russia to implement a series of new important consensuses reached by the two heads of state and push China-Russia relations to a new level.

“China is ready to closely cooperate with the Russian side and other member countries of the organization to ensure the SCO’s sustainable progress,” the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Wang Yi in a statement.

🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hold a meeting ahead of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council meeting.

📍 Astana, May 20#RussiaChina pic.twitter.com/M7FRBi0JbF

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) May 20, 2024

Lavrov also extended gratitude for the warm reception of President Vladimir Putin in Beijing and Harbin on May 16-17. He conveyed his thanks to the Chinese leadership for keeping a well-balanced stance on resolving the Ukrainian crisis and appreciated Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal to convene a peace conference with equal participation by Russia and Ukraine, considering Moscow’s legitimate security interests and the current situation.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the two ministers “strongly condemned the interference of third countries in China’s internal affairs, particularly regarding the Taiwan issue. Amid the inauguration of Taiwan’s “president” Lai Ching-te on May 20, the Russian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Moscow’s steadfast adherence to the “one China” principle.”

SCO expansion

During the meeting, the SCO secretary-general noted that Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik’s attendance at the summit was his country’s first formal participation after becoming a full member of the organization.

The SCO currently consists of 14 countries while more participants are in line to join the organization. The obvious next candidate for joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is Mongolia, all members of the organization support its accession, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters following a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.

“We have also received applications for this status from Laos and Algeria. So, the process is underway, and as our relations with these states develop, having passed the status of dialogue partner, observer, they can apply for membership,” Lavrov added.

The declaration on the establishment of the SCO was signed in Shanghai in June 2001 by six states, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Currently, the organization also includes India and Pakistan while Belarus is set to become a full member. Observer states include Afghanistan, Iran, and Mongolia.