The Meeting of Heads of Ministries and Departments of Science and Technology of the SCO Member States has been in operation since 2012. The Meeting maintains a Permanent Working Group on Scientific and Technical Cooperation among the SCO member states.
According to the Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Governments of the SCO Member States (Bishkek, 13 September 2013), the Meeting focuses on cooperation in the following key areas: environmental protection and sustainable utilisation of natural resources; life sciences; agricultural sciences; nanosystems and materials; information and telecommunications technologies; energy and energy efficiency; earth sciences, including seismology and geology; and other areas agreed upon by the member states.
Between 2012 and 2025, nine Meetings were held.
On 12 June 2025, the 9th Meeting took place in Chengdu, chaired by the People’s Republic of China. The meeting concluded with the signing of the final protocol and the approval of the Roadmap for Implementing the SCO Member States’ Cooperation Programme on the Development of Artificial Intelligence.
The Kyrgyz Republic has assumed the chairmanship of the Meeting of Heads of Ministries and Departments of Science and Technology of the SCO Member States for 2025-2026.