China to hold SCO Tianjin summit from Aug 31 to Sept 1

TIANJIN -- Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will attend the Tianjin summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and related events, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday.

The SCO Tianjin summit will be held from Aug 31 to Sept 1, Wang said in Tianjin during a joint press meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev.

On the same day, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chaired SCO member states' meeting of the council of the ministers of foreign affairs in Tianjin.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Jeenbek Kulubaev, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Ularbek Sharsheev attended the meeting.

Wang called on SCO member states to strive to build greater consensus on strengthening the organization in a manner that demonstrates a sense of responsibility towards history and the future. He proposed five suggestions on the organization's development.

He said that member states should stay true to the original aspiration and carry forward the Shanghai Spirit, consolidate the foundation of security, pursue mutual benefit and win-win results to drive the new engine of development, pursue friendship and good-neighborliness, and safeguard fairness and justice.

Wang expressed appreciation for the support of member states for China's role as the rotating chair, adding that the SCO is set to enter a new phase of high-quality development through member states' joint efforts.

The participating parties highly commended China's outstanding work and positive outcomes as the rotating chair, and expressed their willingness to coordinate and collaborate with China to ensure the success of the Tianjin summit.

All parties fully recognized the important role of the SCO in strengthening strategic mutual trust among member states, promoting regional development and prosperity, maintaining common security, and deepening the bonds between the peoples.

In the face of turbulent international situations, all parties agreed that it is essential to further promote the Shanghai Spirit, strengthen solidarity and coordination, safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism, and separatism.

They also agreed to enhance cooperation in various fields, promote dialogue among different civilizations, jointly uphold the authority of the United Nations, oppose unilateralism, and peacefully resolve hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation, to make new contributions to world peace and development.