25th Council of Heads of SCO Member States and the SCO plus in Tianjin
It was attended by President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Peseshkian, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan ShavkatMirziyoyev, SCO Secretary General NurlanYermekbayev and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure Ularbek Sharsheev.
A discussion took place on the prospects for the development of multilateral cooperation across the full spectrum of activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the areas of politics, security, trade, investment, energy, industry, sustainable development, new technologies, international and regional agendas, as well as questions concerning the improvement of the Organization’s work. Heads of delegations put forward a number of proposals and initiatives.
In his speech, the Secretary-General of the SCO highly valued the productive work under the Chinese chairmanship, which operated under the motto “Advancing the Shanghai Spirit: SCO in Action”. He put forward proposals for forming a coherent structure for the entire Organization, creating incentives for the development of investment and trade cooperation, and intensifying humanitarian exchanges.
Nurlan Yermekbayev noted the relevance of the proposal by the next chairman of the Organization — the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov — on the creation of a SCO Disaster Assistance Fund/Mechanism, as well as the timeliness of the water-related issues and other proposals of the leaders. He stressed the need for consistent implementation of the decisions and proposals of the leaders of the member states to increase the effectiveness and practical impact of the meetings of the profile ministries and agencies.As a result of the meeting, 24 documents were approved, including the Tianjin Declaration, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Development Strategy until 2035, the Statement of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in connection with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the formation of the United Nations, as well as a number of thematic statements.
Agreements were signed between SCO member states on the SCO Anti-Drug Center and on the Universal Center for Countering Challenges and Threats to the Security of SCO Member States. The ceremony to launch the above-mentioned centers was held.
A decision was taken to grant the Lao People’s Democratic Republic the status of SCO Dialogue Partner and to grant SCO Observer status with the Commonwealth of Independent States.
In accordance with the Organization’s tradition, the city of Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan was designated the “Tourist and Cultural Capital of the SCO” for 2025–2026.
The 25th meeting of The Council of Heads of States crowned the Chinese chairmanship of the Organization for 2024–2025. The chairmanship for 2025–2026 has passed to the Kyrgyz Republic. The head of Kyrgyzstan named the theme of the Kyrgyz chairmanship as “25 years of the SCO: together for a stable world, development, and prosperity”.
Following the Council of Heads of States, there was a “SCO Plus” meeting on the topic “Turning Multilateralism into Action, Ensuring Regional Security, and Promoting Sustainable Development”. The event was attended by leaders of member states, the observer state Mongolia, dialogue partners — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Turkey, Egypt, guest of the chairing side Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, and Vietnam, as well as heads of executive bodies of the UN, SCO, CIS, ASEAN, CSTO, EEC, CICA, ECO, AIIB.
At the conclusion of the Tianjin Summit activities, the Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, and the Secretary-General of the SCO, Nurlan Yermekbayev, held a joint press briefing for journalists.
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