On 29 June, 2022, a research conference took place at the SCO Secretariat in the format of a roundtable meeting, titled The Past, Present and Future and marking the 20th anniversary of the SCO Charter and the 15th anniversary of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation. The conference was organised in cooperation with the China Institute of International Studies, the Centre for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the SCO Secretariat.
More than 50 high-ranking guests took part in the hybrid format roundtable meeting, including the SCO Secretary-General, ambassadors of the SCO member states, representatives of the Foreign Ministry of China, influential experts and scholars, and media representatives. The foreign ministers of the SCO countries and Director of theRegional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Executive Committee addressed the participants via video.
In his remarks, Secretary-General Zhang Ming noted that the Charter manifests the SCO's primary mission. The ideas and opinions of all the parties are inseparable from the common starting point of the SCO's establishment. It is important to further adhere to the principle of unfailingly promoting of the Charter's goals and objectives, strengthening internal unity, and continuing to improve and modernise the Organisation in accordance with the imperative of our time, and intensifying cooperation in different areas. It was stressed that the SCO should take a proactive approach to consistent self-improvement and to amplifying its positive impact on the situation in the world, in order to steer the world order toward more democratic, fair and rational tendencies which meet the expectations of the entire SCO family.
Prominent political analysts from the SCO member states presented their analytical reports on the significance of the SCO Charter and the Treaty, as well as the historic achievements and prospects of the SCO's development. The keynote of their reports was understanding the critical importance, in the modern reality, of actively defending the goals and principles stated in these fundamental documents, expanding multi-dimensional and mutually beneficial cooperation and creating a better future together for the entire SCO space.
Also during the meeting, the guests had a chance to review the milestones in the history of the Organisation at the 20 Years of SCO History photo exhibition organised with the support of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.
