The SCO Summit of Media and Think Tanks Kicks Off in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
According to “Tehsil365”, citing AZERTAC, the Summit of Media and Think Tanks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has officially begun in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
Organized jointly by Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the government of Henan Province, the event brings together over 400 participants, including government officials, media leaders, scholars, experts from research centers, and journalists from SCO member states, observer countries, and dialogue partners.
Azerbaijan is represented at the summit by delegates from the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, and the Azerbaijan State University of Economics.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the State Council Information Office Mo Gaoyi, President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Peng Jinhui, and others emphasized the importance of the summit in addressing sustainable development and mutually beneficial cooperation in a changing world. It was noted that close collaboration among media organizations, academic, and research institutions within the SCO family would contribute to strengthening joint development.
At the conclusion of the opening session, the “Zhengzhou Consensus” of the SCO Media and Think Tanks Summit was announced.
The summit will run until July 27 and will feature panel discussions on topics such as enhancing strategic alignment and deepening mutual political trust, safeguarding regional security and responding to global challenges, expanding practical cooperation for common progress, strengthening people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, as well as promoting multilateralism and upholding equality and justice.
It should be noted that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, established in 2001, currently has 10 member states (Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Belarus), 2 observer states (Afghanistan and Mongolia), and 14 dialogue partners (Azerbaijan, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Armenia, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka). The main goals of the organization include strengthening mutual trust and neighborly relations among member states; promoting effective cooperation in politics, trade and economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; ensuring peace, security, and stability in the region; and taking steps toward the creation of a new political and economic international order.
Azerbaijan, which actively participates in international and regional organizations, has also expanded its cooperation with the SCO in recent years. The decision to grant Azerbaijan the status of dialogue partner was made at the SCO Summit held in Ufa in July 2015. Existing areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the organization were formalized in a memorandum signed in 2016. Since then, Azerbaijan has actively participated in various events organized within the SCO framework. President Ilham Aliyev has attended the SCO summits held in Samarkand in 2022 and in Astana in 2024. During the Astana summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited President Ilham Aliyev to the 2025 SCO Summit to be held in China.