Meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council

On 20-21 May 2024, Astana hosted a regular meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council. It was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu.

The meeting began with a minute of silence in honour of the Iranian President, Foreign Minister and other members of the delegation who were killed in a plane crash.

The foreign ministers acknowledged the effective and fruitful activities of the Organisation in ensuring regional security and stability, and prosperity and wellbeing of its peoples. They emphasised the increasing influence of the SCO in international politics and its growing role in the current complex geopolitical conditions.

In his address to the meeting SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming emphasised that in the present conditions, the Organisation not only maintains a steady pace of its work, but also intensifies its activities in some areas due to the ongoing modernisation of the SCO. He expressed confidence in the Organisation’s continued active role in maintaining global security and providing maximum assistance to its member states in their fight against “three evil forces.” He also informed the audience about the work done by the SCO Secretariat in various areas such as politics, diplomacy, trade, economy and culture, as well as humanitarian, administrative and legal spheres.

One of the main items on the agenda of the Foreign Ministers Council meeting was the content of and comprehensive preparations for the upcoming SCO Astana summit (3-4 July 2024). The participants approved a list of subjects and documents to be submitted to the leaders for consideration, including the draft Astana Declaration by the leaders of the SCO member states, SCO Initiatives on World Unity for Just Peace and Harmony, a draft roadmap for developing interaction with SCO dialogue partners, and a number of other documents.

The ministers had a substantive exchange of opinions on developing cooperation within the Organisation, particularly on such tracks as environmental protection, humanitarian and cultural exchanges, transport interconnectivity, food security, economic security and energy security.

They agreed to continue building up interaction to ensure regional security and combat terrorism, extremism, separatism, drug trafficking, cyber crimes, and other issues.

The participants paid special attention to the expansion of the Organisation’s membership, specifically the completion of the accession process by the Republic of Belarus. They touched on joint efforts with other interested countries and partner international organisations.

The officials also discussed the progress of thematic events within the framework of the Year of Ecology in 2024.

They approved the Report of the SCO Secretary-General on the work of the SCO Secretariat for the period from May 2023 to May 2024.

Participants and speakers at the meeting included Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India Shri Dammu Ravi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mehdi Safari, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Jeenbek Kulubayev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Ishaq Dar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyer Saidov, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and Director of the SCO RATS Executive Committee Ruslan Mirzayev.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Aleinik.