Kazakh capital to host 19th meeting of SCO National Security Council Secretaries

The Kazah capital of Astana is to host the 19th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) National Security Council Secretaries on April 2-3, 2024, official spokesperson of the Kazakh MFA Aibek Smadiyarov said, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.

The upcoming event will be held under the presidency of Kazakhstan. Iran will join the meeting as a full SCO member state for the first time. SCO observer states Mongolia and Belarus were invited to join the event as guests. As part of the meeting, an exchange of views is expected on the pressing international issues within the SCO area of responsibility, including joint fight against ‘the forces of the three evils’ (terrorism, separatism and extremism), illegal drug and psychotropic substances trafficking, transnational organized crime and cooperation on international information security, as well as further interaction within multilateral groupings such as the UN, CICA, CSTO, said Smadiyarov.

He went on to note that as a result of the meeting, a protocol of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) National Security Council Secretaries, providing for common approaches of the member states to further development of multilateral partnership in regional and international security, will be signed.

The meeting is in line with the long-term interests of Kazakhstan on ensuring regional partnership in the field of security and stability and aims at increasing the level of multilateral cooperation of Kazakhstan within the SCO as well as close political dialogue in the combat against challenges and threats with the key partners in the region, said the official spokesperson of the Kazakh foreign ministry.