Foreign ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization convene in Kazakh capital

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The foreign ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states on Tuesday convened for a Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.

The session was attended by the foreign ministers of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Belarus and Tajikistan, as well as SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and representatives from India and Iran.

The meeting commenced with a minute of silence in memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian who were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday in the country’s mountainous East Azerbaijan Province.

One of the primary agendas is preparations for the forthcoming meeting of the SCO Heads of States Council, scheduled for July, according to a statement issued last week.

The representatives will also exchange views on international and regional agendas, as well as security issues and the development of political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation within the organization.