The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Expert Working Group on Cultural Interaction met on 16 May in the picturesque city of Sanya on Hainan Island, China. The meeting was chaired by China.
The experts discussed issues concerning the 15th Meeting of SCO Culture Ministers and coordinated the drafts of the final documents.
They exchanged opinions on the further development of cultural cooperation within the SCO, new forms and areas of interaction based on current realities and opportunities.
The meeting participants also emphasised the importance of organising joint events aimed at sharing the vast culture and long-standing traditions of the SCO nations.
The experts said that the accession of new members, India and Pakistan, had substantially contributed to the organisation's cultural potential.
The SCO Expert Working Group on Cultural Cooperation was set up in 2005 to coordinate cultural interaction and maintain contacts between the relevant agencies of the SCO member states in the intervals between ministerial conferences.