On 7–8 October 2026, a Counter-Terrorism Forum was held in Minsk, Republic of Belarus, hosted by the State Security Committee of Belarus, the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), and the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center. The event brought together the 12th International Scientific and Practical Conference of the SCO RATS and the 4th CIS Conference on Combating Terrorism and Extremism, as well as the practical stage of joint counter-terrorism exercises of the competent authorities of the SCO member states and the CIS participating states.
The Forum opened with a welcoming message from President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko being read out. "The fight against terrorism stands at the forefront of global security for countries and regions," said in the message. "Belarus's position is unchanged: terrorism is a challenge that can only be tackled together, through close interaction among key political actors and coordinated action by competent and intelligence services."
The head of state emphasized that the Forum, held in the year of the 35th anniversary of the CIS and the 25th anniversary of the SCO, would become a practical embodiment of the initiative for a united anti-terrorist front and a summing-up of the joint SCO and CIS exercises "Eurasia Anti-Terror – 2026."
The key reports at the plenary session of the Forum were delivered by Chairman of the State Security Committee of Belarus Ivan Tertel, Head of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center Evgeny Sysoev, and Director of the SCO RATS Executive Committee Ularbek Sharsheev. The speakers were unanimous in their view that deepening the partnership between the two multilateral associations is of symbolic significance, makes the cooperation system more monolithic, and makes the format of countering terrorism more effective. It was emphasized that, as a result of many years of joint work, the states and specialized structures have enormous potential for consolidating efforts on the anti-terrorist track.
A delegation of the SCO Secretariat headed by Deputy Secretary-General Oleg Kopylov took part in the Forum. In his speech at the plenary session, he emphasized that terrorism and extremism know no borders and can only be overcome through close interaction among competent services: over 25 years, the SCO has built a regulatory, legal, and institutional framework, and the SCO RATS is a collective center for operational information exchange. On this basis, the foundation of security and stability in Greater Eurasia will be built in the formats of interested multilateral structures and their member states.
On the sidelines of the Forum, Oleg Kopylov, together with the organizers, gave comments to the media, in which he highlighted the agreements reached by the leaders of the SCO member states on developing anti-terrorist cooperation.
The next joint anti-terrorist exercises of the SCO member states are planned to be held in 2027 in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
