ASTANA – Kazakhstan is set to assume the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from July 2023 to July 2024, following the upcoming online meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council on July 4.

According to Kazakhstan’s National Coordinator for the SCO Murat Mukushev, during its presidency, Kazakhstan will focus on fostering balanced development across all areas of cooperation, including security, trade, economy, culture, and humanitarian efforts. 

“Kazakhstan aims to enhance the SCO activities and position the organization as a reliable platform for fruitful cooperation, featuring around 80 events during the country’s chairmanship,” said Mukushev during a May 31 Central Communications Service briefing.

The SCO summit will be held next year in Astana. 

“The summit’s outcomes will play a crucial role in upholding peace and stability in the region, promoting sustainable development, and strengthening humanitarian cooperation within the SCO,” he said. 

Almaty has been designated the SCO’s cultural and tourism capital for 2023-2024.

The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organization founded in June 2001 in Shanghai by China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In 2017, India and Pakistan became full members. In 2021, the SCO leaders approved Iran’s bid to join the SCO. During the SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last year, the member states agreed to start the accession of Belarus to the SCO.

In March this year, the SCO welcomed Saudi Arabia as a dialogue partner with Qatar and Egypt, who signed respective memoranda in Samarkand.

Source: Astana Times

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