Beijing, Nov 1(PTI) The heads of delegations of the SCO member states exchanged views on key issues of global and regional development on Tuesday and discussed priority steps to increase trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian cooperation within the eight-member group.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hosted the 21st Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) via video link on Tuesday.
Launched in Shanghai in June 2001, the SCO has eight full members, including its six founding members, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
Premier Li, who is set to retire early next year following the major reshuffle of officials following the recent once-in-a-five-year congress of the ruling Communist Party of China, hosted the meeting via video link.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took part in the virtual meeting.
The heads of government and representatives of SCO member states including Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Ruslan Mirzayev took part in the meeting, a press release issued by the SCO Secretariat here said.
The SCO heads of the state held their first in-person summit after two years at Samarkand in Uzbekistan last month which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
India is the current chair of the SCO Heads of the State and expected to hold the summit of the eight-member grouping in the middle of next year. PTI KJV ZH ZH
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