Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed on Tuesday that leaders from more than 20 countries, along with the heads of 10 international organisations, will participate in the upcoming Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), scheduled to be held from August 31 to September 1.
Speaking alongside SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev in a joint press conference, Wang revealed that the summit, to be held in the seaport city of Tianjin, would also feature a series of related events, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Dignitaries from all over the world are expected to attend, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other SCO member state leaders, further highlighting the importance of the summit in both regional and international diplomacy.
Earlier today, foreign ministers from the SCO's ten member states met in Tianjin to prepare for next month's summit. They focused on the development of cooperation in different fields and an overview of urgent international and regional issues, Chinese broadcaster CGTN said.
The summit also witnessed the signing of various resolutions and formal documents. India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Russia's Sergey Lavrov, Pakistan's Ishaq Dar, and Iran's Abbas Araghchi were some of the foreign dignitaries who attended the gathering. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi presided over the session.
The SCO, which consists of India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus, has become a strong transregional organization, an influential factor in regional stability and economic development.
Ahead of the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping received the SCO member states' foreign ministers. He stressed the need to build up the organisation's capability to address newly emerging security challenges and was hopeful about the summit.
Xi expressed his wish to greet fellow heads of state at the event, where he is going to set a direction for the future of the SCO. He also added that in an environment where the world is changing rapidly and becoming more unpredictable, the SCO has to stand firm, keep confidence, and take a more active role in creating international peace and security.
In comments that quietly touched on tensions with the West, especially with the United States, Xi called on member states to oppose unilateralism and coercive diplomacy. "Joint efforts should be made to resolutely oppose hegemony, power politics, and bullying to promote a more equal and balanced multipolar world," Xi stated.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on behalf of the foreign ministers at their meeting with Xi, commended the SCO's success under the guiding principles of the "Shanghai Spirit."
Lavrov stated, "Thanks to its consistent adherence to the Shanghai Spirit, the SCO has made significant cooperation results and grown more attractive to the international community.
He defined the "Shanghai Spirit" as based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for the richness of civilizations, and the shared pursuit of development. "The practice has shown that the Shanghai Spirit… meets the common interests of member states and embodies strong vitality," Lavrov continued.
As hopes increase for the Tianjin Summit, the SCO remains poised as a primary platform for building regional stability, multilateral exchanges, and fair development in an ever more complex international order.
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