Daily Times

BEIJING: The 13th meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Security Council secretaries will be held in Beijing on May 21-22, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced Wednesday.

At the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi, Deputy National Security Adviser of India Rajinder Khanna, Assistant to the President and Secretary of the Security Council of Kazakhstan Nurlan Yermekbayev, Secretary of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan Damir Sagynbayev, Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Lt Gen (r) Naseer Khan Janjua, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Tajikistan AA Kahharov, Secretary of the Security Council of Uzbekistan Viktor Makhmudov, SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov and Director of the Executive Committee of SCO’s Regional Counter-Terrorist Structure Evgeniy Sysoev will attend the meeting.

The meeting will focus on issues including the regional security situation and priority of security cooperation among the SCO members, Lu said.

It is the first SCO security council secretaries meeting since the organization’s enlargement. The primary task is to make political and security preparations for the Qingdao summit, Lu said.

During the meeting, Chinese leaders will meet with the heads of the delegations from participating countries, Lu said.

Women’s Forum:

A forum to promote communication among women from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries was held in Beijing on Wednesday.

The first SCO Women’s Forum, organized by the All-China Women’s Federation, was aimed at increasing exchanges and pushing the development of a community with a shared future for humanity, said Shen Yueyue, president of the federation.

Shen called on participants of the forum to remain true to their original aspirations, advocate the “Shanghai Spirit” of the SCO, deepen practical cooperation, uphold openness and inclusiveness, and strive for common development.

Chinese women are willing to work with women from other member countries to promote the development of the SCO, enhance cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative, safeguard regional security and stability, and promote world peace and prosperity. The SCO has eight full members: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and India. China will host the SCO summit in the coastal city of Qingdao in June.

Published in Daily Times, May 17^th 2018.