CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev congratulated SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev on the 25th anniversary of the organization.
Sergey Lebedev noted that over the years of its development, the SCO has become an integral part of strategic transformation processes of both regional and global significance and has established itself as a reputable international organization playing an important role in ensuring security and stability across Eurasia.
The Organization has grown from six founding member states into a “large SCO family” comprising 26 countries. It has become the world’s largest regional organization both in terms of geographic scope and population. This fully demonstrates and reflects the aspiration of peoples for peace and joint development and ensures that the Organization will continue to evolve and maintain its vitality.
According to the CIS Secretary-General, the commitment to the “Shanghai spirit” as a universal conceptual foundation for developing mutually beneficial cooperation based on mutual trust, equality and constructive partnership, has enabled the Organization to consistently uphold multilaterization, adhere to the principles of non-alignment, non-targeting of third countries or regions, as well as openness to external cooperation. Amid growing complex challenges and threats, the SCO continue to seek new effective forms of cooperation in the field of security.
"In the context of profound geopolitical and economic transformations, global climate and demographic challenges, the arms race, and technological progress, including the introduction of artificial intelligence, cooperation between the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is of paramount importance. The strategic objective of further expanding the competencies of the CIS and SCO is their organic inclusion in the formation of a new security architecture capable of countering complex challenges and threats. This represents a mutually beneficial process encompassing economic stability, military and political cooperation, and humanitarian interaction," emphasized Sergei Lebedev.