ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 4. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State has decided to finalize the process of admitting Belarus to the SCO and awarding it the status of a SCO member state, TurkicWorld reports.
Chaired by Kazakhstan, the SCO Summit is attended by heads of state and government from India, Iran, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Qatar, the UAE, Turkey, and Turkmenistan, as well as the SCO Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
The summit is also attended by the UN Secretary-General and leaders of international organizations such as the CIS, ECO, CICA, CSTO, EEC, and IOR-ARC.
For the first time, the SCO Summit is being held in the format of a "Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of SCO Member States" and a SCO Plus meeting.
Overall, the heads of state are considering a wide range of issues aimed at further strengthening the multifaceted cooperation of the SCO, its prospects, and addressing current international and regional problems.
