BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 3. Kazakhstan’s Almaty will be Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s capital for culture and tourism in 2023-2024, TurkicWorld reports, citing the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Kazakhstan.

The decision was reached during the online meeting of culture ministers of the member states of the organization.

The acting Minister of Culture and Sport of Kazakhstan, Askhat Oralov, said that the draft plan includes holding 14 various events in the city.

"These are international tourist and cultural festivals, as well as marathons. The presidency of Kazakhstan in the Organization will also be accompanied by a rich cultural program. Today we can see a positive trend in the development and strengthening of cooperation with the SCO countries in all areas, and tourism is not an exception," Oralov added.

He also expressed his confidence that Almaty’s status as cultural capital will further boost cooperation in the field of tourism.

Kazakhstan will preside over the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from July 2023 through July 2024.

The Organization is a political entity that aims to promote international political, cultural, and economic cooperation between the member countries. It is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope, covering around 40 percent of the global population.