On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a gala event was held in Beijing on February 22, 2024.
The event was attended by the heads of diplomatic missions of the SCO member states, observers and dialogue partners, as well as government bodies and public organizations of the PRC.
The opening ceremony was attended by Member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, Head of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the People’s Republic of China and Secretary General of the SCO.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his welcoming speech, emphasized the role of the SCO and its priority place in China’s foreign policy. The head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, noting Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the Organization, highly appreciated the intensive work of the SCO member states in preparing for the upcoming Summit of the Heads of SCO Member States in Astana in July 2024.
SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming spoke about the activities of the headquarters over the past 20 years and expressed confidence in the sustainable, healthy and stable development of the Organization in the future, as well as in the continuation of its mission to strengthen regional security and contribution to peace in general.
On behalf of the country presiding over the SCO, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the PRC Shakhrat Nuryshev thanked the Secretariat for its professionalism and effective work in coordinating multidisciplinary interaction in the Organization’s space. The Kazakh diplomat said that within the framework of the fourth presidency of the Republic of the SCO, since July 2023, more than 100 events have already been carried out and about 70 more are planned, including the implementation of 20 additional events in accordance with the Joint Plan between the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the PRC, the SCO Secretariat and the Chinese SCO Committee on good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation.
During the event, a demonstration of the national costumes of the SCO member states also took place.
The Secretariat is located in Beijing and is the main permanent body of the SCO, which is responsible for coordination and information and analytical support for the activities of the Organization, provides organizational and technical support for meetings of the SCO working bodies, coordinates its interaction with observer states and dialogue partners, as well as international organizations.
