Focus on Arts and Ecology

May 5, 2023 

Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization met in Goa, India, this week to prepare for a leaders' summit in New Delhi this summer.

The SCO is a regional security group comprising China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang said the organization is a constructive force at a time of international challenges, rising hegemony, and a resurgence of the Cold War.

Qin put forward five suggestions:

· uphold strategic autonomy

· deepen security cooperation to protect regional peace

· promote development through openness and inclusiveness

· improve global governance 

· focus on long-term development

Iran and Belarus are due to join the SCO soon, and Qin called for an orderly completion of that process.

The foreign ministers pledged to advance cooperation in areas such as transportation and energy, free trade, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

More headlines:

· Before traveling to India for the SCO gathering, Qin Gang paid a three-day visit to Myanmar and met with the country's leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

· Qin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the Ukraine crisis in a meeting on the sidelines of Goa. Qin said China will continue to facilitate talks for peace. Lavrov said Russia agrees with China's principled position and is ready to maintain close communication with China in a candid manner.

· Qin called for joint efforts with India to bring bilateral relations back on track. He met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Goa.

· The SCO meeting marked the first time in 12 years that a Pakistani foreign minister had visited India. A bilateral meeting between the two countries was not on Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's agenda, but he did meet his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, for a short photo-op. Will this be a first step toward easing hostility between the nuclear-armed neighbors?

· The Indian foreign minister had sharp words when asked afterward if India and Pakistan could hold talks on combatting terrorism. Indian news media quoted him saying, "Victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism."

(Sources: China Report)