Statement of Secretary-General Zhang Ming at the Press Conference after the Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO Member States

Friends from the media, good afternoon!

It is my honor to attend the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO Member States hosted by Pakistan. As noted by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the Pakistani side has made tremendous, constructive efforts for hosting a high-quality Meeting, and significant contribution to its success. Here, I would like to extend the warmest congratulation and heartiest gratitude to the Pakistani side for successfully hosting the SCO Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government for the first time.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar already gave a detailed briefing about the Meeting. I would like to add a few points:

First, the Meeting focused on practical cooperation. It had a systemic summary of all the meetings of heads of ministries/agencies responsible for practical areas over the past year, in particular, regarding the implementation of outcomes of the Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Foreign Economic and Foreign Trade Activities, and the results of the SCO Interbank Consortium and the SCO Business Council. An in-depth discussion was carried out on SCO cooperation plans and prospects in priority areas such as trade, investment, transportation, energy, agriculture, local currency settlement, innovation, education and culture. The Meeting reaffirmed the consensus among Member States on the concrete follow-through of outcomes of the Astana Summit, and on maintaining close cooperation in the establishment of the Association of Investors and the project financing mechanism of the SCO.

The Concept of Cooperation on the Development of a New Economic Dialogue among the SCO Member States was adopted at the Meeting. It is aimed to strengthen the momentum of SCO economic and trade cooperation by further improving the efficacy of existing cooperation mechanisms and setting up more platforms that facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation among the business community of SCO Member States.

Second, the Meeting discussed the modernization and reform of the SCO. It drew up a blueprint for action on the practical implementation of the recommendations approved at the Astana Summit on improving the operational mechanisms of the SCO, and saw substantive exchanges of views on specific effective measures to improve the efficiency of the SCO ministerial and expert mechanisms and to make the SCO permanent executive body more efficient, operational and flexible.

Third, the Meeting paid attention to the internal functioning of the SCO. In light of new situations and needs, such as the increased number of Member States, the Meeting adopted documents on the final accounts of the previous year and the budget for the next year, and on the adjustments to the staffing of permanent bodies. This will ensure higher operational efficiency and better fulfillment of duties of our Organization.

In the context of intensifying global geopolitical conflicts, the participants also exchanged views on regional and international hotspot issues and reaffirmed the determination and readiness of the SCO to consolidate peace, security and stability in the region and the world through joint endeavor of multilateral cooperation.

Friends from the media,

Today is the last time that I take part in an SCO high-level institutional meeting as Secretary-General. I would like to thank all of you for your interest in and support for myself, the Secretariat and the SCO over the past three years. I hope that you will continue to closely follow and actively participate in the work of our Organization, and learn more about, publicize and support various SCO activities, so as to facilitate the steady and long-term development and new achievements of the SCO.

Thank you.