Leaders of 17 countries to attend SCO summit in Bishkek

Leaders of 17 countries will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, including Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other leaders, TASS reported, citing the press service of the Kyrgyz President.

In addition to the heads of the SCO member states, the meeting will be attended by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, President of the Government of Togo Faure Gnassingbé, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Issa.

The participants will also include UN Secretary-General António Guterres, CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev, CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Bakytzhan Sagintayev and CICA Secretary-General Kairat Sarybay.

The participants are expected to discuss the international and regional agenda, the further development of the SCO, as well as cooperation in the political, trade and economic, transport, digital, environmental and humanitarian spheres.

Following the summit, a declaration dedicated to the organisation’s 25th anniversary, a number of decisions and thematic statements are expected to be adopted.

In the expanded “SCO Plus” format, participants will discuss the role of the UN and international law, sustainable development and the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation.

The summit of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO will be held in Bishkek from August 31 to September 1.

It should be recalled that Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said on August 28 that a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin was also planned in Bishkek.