On 23 January 2025, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov had a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Reception House in Moscow.
The parties exchanged views on expanding cooperation between the SCO member states.
Sergei Lavrov congratulated Nurlan Yermekbayev on assuming office as SCO Secretary-General, stressing that the Russian side was ready to provide maximum assistance to the SCO Secretariat and reaffirming its resolve to further pursue and expand the ongoing multifaceted cooperation within the SCO.
Nurlan Yermekbayev thanked the Russian Foreign Minister for supporting the SCO Secretariat, highlighting Russia’s major role in promoting cooperation across the SCO territory and the initiatives the country proposed. He also informed the minister about the Secretariat’s current and proposed efforts toward increasing the practical impact of cooperation within the SCO, reaffirming his readiness to promote the interests of all SCO member states. The parties exchanged views on the opportunities for and ways of implementing cooperation projects within the SCO, as well as on the progress of the efforts to improve the organisation’s activities.
Particular attention was paid to the need to implement the agreements between the leaders of the SCO member states adopted at the Astana Summit, to provide maximum assistance to the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation during their chairmanship of the SCO and its Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers), respectively, as well as to continue streamlining the organisation’s work.