On September 20-22, 2025, the 8th Silk Road International Cultural Exhibition - Expo was held in Dunhuang (Gansu Province, China), dedicated to the strengthening of humanitarian exchanges. The event was attended by representatives of 97 countries and international organizations.
The opening ceremony was attended by Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chairman of the Chinese Federation of Literary and Artistic Circles Tie Ning.
At the invitation of the host party, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Sohail Khan visited the Expo and held a number of meetings with representatives of the cultural circles of the participating states, including Belarus and Kyrgyzstan.
The program included exhibitions, creative presentations, and musical performances. The delegates visited the historical and cultural monuments of Dunhuang, located on the historical route of the Great Silk Road.
The participants of the meetings stressed the importance of developing cultural interaction and the need to encourage the work of institutions of public diplomacy, and unanimously agreed that such events contribute to strengthening mutual understanding and expanding humanitarian cooperation between the SCO member states and partners.
The first Silk Road International Cultural Expo was held in September 2016. Since then, it has been held regularly, becoming an authoritative platform for inter-civilizational exchange.