SCO Heads Of State Council Convenes In Moscow
The 24th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State opened on Tuesday in Moscow under the chairmanship of Russia’s prime minister.
The 24th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State opened on Tuesday in Moscow under the chairmanship of Russia’s prime minister.
Senior officials from Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus are attending the summit. Taliban officials are not participating.
High-level representatives from Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Mongolia and Turkmenistan, along with leaders of several international organisations, have also been invited.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is presiding over the meeting.
Images released by the Russian Foreign Ministry show heads of delegations from SCO member states arriving at Russia’s National Centre in Moscow. No Afghan or Taliban flag appears in the photos. Russian officials and the SCO have not commented on the absence of Taliban representatives.
The SCO, founded in 2001, includes Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Iran and Uzbekistan as full members. Belarus joined the organisation on 4 July 2024. As the world’s largest trans-regional organisation, the SCO plays a growing role in promoting peace, security and stability across Eurasia.
SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev told Izvestia news agency that the meeting will focus on implementing decisions adopted at the leaders’ level. The SCO leaders’ summit was held in Tianjin in September.
Afghanistan and Mongolia are observer states, while dialogue partners include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Sri Lanka.
