The upcoming meeting of the
Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO member states will convene in Astana on
May 21. SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and Director of the Executive
Committee of the SCO Regional
Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Ruslan
Mirzaev are also expected to attend the event. The agenda will focus on the
preparations for the meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council, which is set to
take place this year in the Kazakh capital.
“The delegation leaders will
exchange views on the international and regional situation, security matters,
and the development of cooperation within the SCO across political, trade,
economic, cultural, and humanitarian spheres. Plans include signing a number of
resolutions related to the outcome documents of the upcoming Organization
summit and adopting an information statement during the session,” Kazakh
Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov said.
During the visit of Vice Premier
of the State Council of China Liu Guozhong to Kazakhstan this week, the parties
will discuss expanding cooperation in the agricultural sector. This includes
increasing the export volumes of Kazakh products to China and implementing joint projects in
the agro-industrial complex.
“The main purpose of the visit is
to bolster intergovernmental relations and discuss the current state and
prospects for further development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
As part of the visit, bilateral meetings are scheduled with the leadership of
the country’s Government and the heads of a number of regions of Kazakhstan,” Smadiyarov
added.
Additionally, the Turkic
Investment Fund (TIF) will be launched this week. The inaugural meeting of the
Board of Governors of the TIF member countries, including Kazakhstan, will be
held in Istanbul on May 17-18. It is worth noting that the proposal to
establish the Turkic integration fund was made by Kazakhstan in 2015.