High dignitaries from member countries (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) as well as observer states (Iran, Belarus and Mongolia) will participate in the event. So far, the causes for the change in the modality of the meeting are unknown.
According to the organizers of the event, as is the tradition, Turkmenistan will participate as a guest of the country currently leading the organization, in this case, India, which assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit in September 2022.
The heads of the organization and the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Independent States of the Commonwealth, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia will also be present.
At the initiative of the Indian Prime Minister, the Summit will emphasize the objective of working to strengthen security, the economy and trade, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the environment.
During its SCO presidency, New Delhi established new avenues of cooperation in the sectors of innovation and traditional medicine, for digital inclusion, youth empowerment and highlighting Shared Buddhist heritage, according to a note issued by the Foreign Ministry of India.
In addition, India has worked to foster greater people-to-people ties as upholding the historical and civilizational ties between the nations of the bloc, with socio-cultural events such as those organized by Varanasi as part of the first SCO Capital of Culture and Tourism for 2022-2023, the source noted.
The Indian authorities value India’s period at the helm of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a period of intense activity and mutually beneficial collaboration between member states. They also confirmed India’s commitment to play a positive and constructive role in the organization, and hoped that the upcoming SCO Summit would be just as successful as the culmination of the country’s presidency.
mh/llp/rgh/lrd
