On 26 October 2023, the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held its 22nd meeting under the chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic, where the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was represented by Deputy Secretary General Chi Fang. CICA took part in the meeting as a SCO partner organization at the invitation of the SCO CHG Chair – Kyrgyz Republic.
In the course of the meeting, the participants discussed the prospects for the development of interaction and cooperation within the SCO and the strengthening of multilateral ties among its member states. The key outcome of the meeting was the documents and decisions aimed at strengthening trade and economic cooperation and the development of the organization.
Special attention was paid to environmental issues. In this context, 2024 was declared the SCO Year of Ecology. It should be noted that this decision blends harmoniously with the initiative of CICA Chairman, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to hold a High-level Environmental Conference under the auspices of CICA in 2024.
High-level SCO meeting was held in person for the first time since 2019 after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next 23rd SCO CHG meeting is scheduled for 2024 and will be held in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
