On 28 October 2025, in Minsk, Republic of Belarus, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev took part in the 3rdMinsk International Conference on Eurasian Security. The event was opened by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
Addressing the plenary session, the SCO Secretary-General noted that the profound historical changes taking place today are, on the one hand, opening up new opportunities for national development and mutually beneficial international cooperation. On the other hand, the established system of international security is being eroded, while geopolitical and geo-economic confrontation, the arms race and international terrorism are intensifying. Levels of mutual distrust are rising, and existing conflicts are worsening alongside the emergence of new crises.
In these conditions, the SCO consistently advocates respect for the right of nations to make their own democratic choices regarding political and socio-economic development, while rejecting confrontational approaches to addressing international and regional issues, Nurlan Yermekbayev noted.
In this context, the Secretary-General outlined the productive outcomes of the SCO summit held on 1 September in Tianjin. Among the initiatives put forward earlier by member states, he highlighted the proposal by Belarus and Russia to develop a Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century, which is currently under consideration by SCO member states.
Nurlan Yermekbayev also cited the Astana Declaration of SCO Leaders (2024), which states that the SCO, as part of the emerging network of partnerships across Eurasia – including the CIS, ASEAN, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia and others – can serve as a strong pillar in shaping a multipolar world order.
The conference brought together more than 500 delegates from 48 countries, including the foreign ministers of Belarus, Hungary, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar and Russia; deputy foreign ministers of Iran, India and Tajikistan; the heads of the executive bodies of the CIS, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia and CSTO; and representatives of leading research, expert and academic centres.
As part of his visit to the Republic of Belarus, the SCO Secretary-General toured the Great Stone Industry Park and gained an insight into its work.