BEIJING, April 24, 2018 - The Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states agreed on the agenda for the upcoming Summit to be held in June this year in Qingdao.

During the meeting in Beijing, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan discussed the future activities of the SCO in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres, and considered a draft Qingdao Declaration and a number of other decisions on the current activities of the organization. The parties carried out an extensive exchange of views on topical issues on the international and regional agendas. They also considered implementation progress of the agreements reached at the SCO Summit in June 2017 in Astana.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov also noted in his speech the urgency of ensuring food security, and the development of roads and railways, taking into account the extensive system of transport routes of the SCO member states. He also stressed that Kazakhstan supports full involvement of the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium in broader cooperation with the mechanisms of the ministerial meetings and working groups, and proposed to conduct an inventory of the adopted documents in the trade and economic domains and ensure their further implementation.

On the eve of the meeting, the heads of delegations met with the President of China, Xi Jinping. He noted that China considers development of the SCO as one of the priorities of its foreign policy and is ready jointly with the other member states of the organization to provide mutual political support, as well as to ensure security and stability in the region, deepen cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road program, and expand humanitarian exchanges.

In general, the Foreign Ministers noted that the SCO, drawing on the 'Shanghai spirit' – mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for the diversity of cultures and the desire for joint development – proved to be a credible international organization of a new format and an influential participant in the global community.