On 28 May 2018, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov attended a meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the SCO member states and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

The meeting chaired by Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui saw an in-depth exchange of views on the situation in Afghanistan, assistance to efforts undertaken by the government and people of Afghanistan to restore the peace process, and measures for further SCO-Afghanistan cooperation.

"The leaders of the SCO member states are unanimous in their firm commitment to Afghanistan's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity, as well as their invariable support for the Afghan Government and people as they strive to restore their country and strengthen democratic institutions," said Rashid Alimov in his opening remarks at the meeting. "As is obvious, there is no purely military solution that would assure stability in Afghanistan. It is only a comprehensive approach to security, economic, state governance and development problems with the coordinating role of the United Nations in guaranteeing peace and stability in Afghanistan that can bring the long awaited result," he stressed. Mr Alimov described the Contact Group meeting as an important contribution to the common regional and international efforts to help promote lasting peace, stability and sustained development in Afghanistan.

The participants in the meeting spoke in favour of developing and intensifying interaction between SCO member states and Afghanistan at the Contact Group in its capacity of a consultative mechanism.