Global leaders will be welcomed to China for the SCO conference

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has announced that the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, scheduled for August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin, will bring together leaders from more than 20 countries and representatives of 10 international organizations.

The announcement was made on Tuesday during a joint press briefing with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, as reported by Xinhua and cited by News.Az. On the same day, Wang chaired the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Tianjin, which was attended by top diplomats from member and observer states including India, Iran, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and others.

Foreign Minister Wang, also a senior figure in China’s Communist Party, urged SCO member states to unite around the core principles of the “Shanghai Spirit”—mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity, and pursuit of common development. He put forward five key proposals to further promote the organization's development, including consolidating regional security, advancing cooperative development, and enhancing mutual trust between member states.

Wang insisted that despite adapting to new challenges, the SCO must stick to its initial objectives. In order to battle the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism, and separatism, he advocated for increased security cooperation.

Wang also stressed the importance of boosting regional cooperation and connectivity, and upholding international fairness and justice, including support for the authority of the United Nations and opposition to unilateralism.

The ministers present valued China's efforts as the current rotating SCO chair, commending its leadership and the good results it had yielded during its term. The ministers once again expressed a shared wish to support China in the success of the Tianjin summit.

The ministers affirmed that the SCO also plays a very important role in fostering robust people-to-people connections, regional development, common security, and mutual trust between member states.

They emphasized greater collaboration, solidarity, and the resolution of global problems through peaceful negotiations, especially when the world was facing additional challenges.

The Tianjin summit, which is to come, is likely to usher a new era for the SCO, with more development, closer cooperation among member states, and a larger contribution to international affairs.