China To Hold SCO Summit In Tianjin From Aug 31 To Sept 1: Wang Yi

Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organisations will attend the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and related events next month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday.

The SCO Tianjin Summit will be held from August 31-September 1, Wang said during a joint press meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev here, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the SCO member states were expected to attend the summit.  Earlier in the day, the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the 10-member grouping was held here with a focus on making political preparations for the summit, official media reported.

At Tuesday's meeting, participants exchanged views on cooperation across various SCO sectors and discussed key international and regional issues, state-run CGTN reported.

A series of resolutions and official documents were signed, it said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi were among those who attended the meeting, which was presided by Foreign Minister Wang.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus, is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

Ahead of the meeting, the SCO Foreign Ministers met Chinese President Xi Jinping, who called for improving mechanisms to address security threats and challenges.  With the SCO Summit set to take place this year in China's Tianjin, Xi expressed hope to meet the leaders of other member states at the event to discuss the future development of the organisation.

He stressed that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the SCO must stay focused, remain confident, act efficiently and play a more proactive role in injecting greater stability and positive energy into the world.

In a veiled dig at the US, President Xi called for joint efforts to firmly oppose hegemony, power politics, and bullying in order to promote a more equal and balanced multipolar world.

Speaking on behalf of the SCO ministers at their meeting with Xi, Lavrov said that through its steadfast commitment to the Shanghai Spirit, the SCO has achieved notable cooperation outcomes and gained increasing international appeal.

The practice has proven that the Shanghai Spirit, which is characterised by mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations, and pursuit of common development, aligns with member states' shared interests and demonstrates robust vitality, he added. 

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