On May 20-21, in Astana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov took part in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO Council of Ministers).
The focus was on the Organization’s activities in the context of the preparation of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO on July 3-4 in Astana. Draft documents that are intended to be submitted for consideration by the leaders were also discussed.
The agreed approaches of the parties to the further development of the Organization, as well as topical issues on the global and regional agenda, will be reflected in the Astana Declaration.
An important step in strengthening the SCO will be the admission of Belarus to membership in the organization. The Ministers approved the draft relevant decisions of the SGG.
The proposals of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the comprehensive improvement of the SCO’s activities in relation to modern geopolitical realities have been agreed upon.
The drafts of leadership statements, as well as conceptual documents in the interests of promoting cooperation in the field of energy, transport and logistics, and environmental protection were adopted as a basis.
During a thorough exchange of views on key regional and international issues, the ministers discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and in the Middle East as a whole, and the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. A special place was taken by the issues of SCO’s assistance to stabilization in Afghanistan, given the importance of this factor for the security of the SCO space.
Sergey Lavrov also held a number of bilateral meetings.
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