President Tokayev Hosts Meeting with SCO Foreign Ministers
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev hosted a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, expressing deep condolences to Iran over the recent tragic deaths of its President and Foreign Minister.
In his opening remarks, Tokayev highlighted the significance of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs meetings in addressing key issues on the SCO’s agenda.
President Tokayev acknowledged the presence of Iranian and Belarusian representatives, noting their participation despite challenging times and welcoming Belarus as a future member of the organization. Tokayev emphasized that the SCO, comprising ten Eurasian countries, represents nearly half the world’s population and accounts for a significant share of global GDP and trade. He reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to enhancing the SCO’s potential during its chairmanship.
Tokayev thanked member states for their support and collaboration on various initiatives, mentioning the completion of over 100 large-scale events, including forums on digitalization, tourism, and energy. He highlighted the ongoing “Spiritual Shrines” project and Kazakhstan’s initiative to declare 2024 as the SCO Year of Ecology. The preparation for the upcoming Astana SCO summit was also underscored, with Tokayev praising the efforts in formulating a comprehensive package of over 20 documents for the summit.
The President called for a collective approach to global strategic challenges, emphasizing the need for compromise and cooperation. He introduced the “SCO Initiative on World Unity for Just Peace and Harmony” and expressed hope that the upcoming Astana Declaration would consolidate international efforts to resolve conflicts.
Tokayev also stressed the importance of combating terrorism, separatism, and extremism, and highlighted the agreed Program of Cooperation to address these issues. He noted the necessity of an Anti-Drug Strategy to enhance mutual measures against the drug threat and emphasized the importance of cybersecurity and climate change initiatives. Tokayev mentioned Kazakhstan’s recent experience with severe flooding and thanked SCO countries for their support.
The meeting was attended by high-ranking officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, and other key representatives from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, India, Iran, and the SCO Secretariat. Tokayev concluded by expressing his hopes for a successful Astana SCO summit, which he believes will strengthen the organization’s role in global peace and security.
