The 9th SCO Meeting of Heads of Emergency Prevention and Relief Agencies was held in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on 24-25 August 2017. The event was chaired by Kubatbek Boronov, the Emergency Situations Minister of Kyrgyzstan.
The meeting was attended by emergency officials from the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and the SCO Secretariat, as well as delegations invited from the International Civil Defence Organisation and the regional Centre for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction.
The delegation heads pointed to the historical significance of the meeting, which was attended for the first time by India and Pakistan in their new capacity as full members.
The delegation heads delivered reports on the biggest emergencies that happened in the SCO member states and the conclusions they made from them. They also exchanged opinions on future cooperation in emergency prevention and relief within the SCO framework.
Based on these reports, the parties agreed on the need to step up their joint efforts to strengthen emergency prevention and relief cooperation.
They intend to continue to promote their interaction to implement the agreements reached within the framework of the organisation.
The parties discussed the results of joint events held in 2016-2017 and approved an action plan to implement the intergovernmental SCO agreement on emergency relief cooperation in 2018-2019.
Following the meeting, the heads of emergency prevention and relief agencies of the SCO member states signed a protocol.
The meeting was held in a productive and friendly atmosphere. The parties expressed satisfaction with the results achieved and extended gratitude to Kyrgyzstan for the excellent organisation of the meeting.