Press release on the outcome of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting

On April 24, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Beijing.

The meeting opened the final stage in the preparations for the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting that will take place on June 9-10 in Qingdao, China. The ministers reviewed the progress in the coordination of documents and decisions to be submitted for consideration by the heads of state. The draft Qingdao Declaration of the Heads of State was approved in principle. The document stipulates shared approaches to further promoting the activities of the SCO as it enters a new stage in itis development, including by strengthening its international role.

The meeting participants also approved the drafts of the Action Plan for 2018-2022 on the implementation of the Treaty on Long-Term Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the SCO Member States, the Programme of Cooperation among the SCO Member States on Counter-Terrorist, Counter-Separatist and Counter-Extremist Measures for 2019-2021, the joint address by the heads of state to the youth and the action plan to prevent young people from getting involved in destructive groups, as well as a number of other documents designed to enhance cooperation within the organisation in all areas.

The participants in the meeting agreed that it would be advisable to continue to work on other documents within the established framework.

An information statement summarising the meeting has been approved.

Sergey Lavrov also had bilateral meetings with some of his foreign counterparts.