Leaders of SCO countries to sign Tianjin declaration

MOSCOW. Aug 29 (Interfax) - The heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries will sign a final declaration at their summit in Tianjin, China, that will reflect the SCO's consolidated approaches to pressing regional and international issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China on August 31 - September 3 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. "The SCO summit - a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State - will be held in Tianjin on August 31 - September 1, followed by a SCO plus meeting," Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told journalists at a briefing on Friday.

The summit will begin on the evening of August 31 with a welcoming ceremony on behalf of the Chinese leader, which will be attended by the leaders of the ten SCO member states (Russia, Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and the leaders of invited countries: two observer states (Afghanistan, Mongolia) and 14 partners in dialogue (Azerbaijani, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sri Lanka). In addition, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Turkmenistan will be guests of China as the current SCO chairman, the aide said.

"By tradition, the heads of leading international organizations including the UN and organizations working mainly in Eurasia, also will be present," Ushakov said.

The formal program of the summit will begin on the morning of September 1, he said. By tradition, the collective photo-op will be followed by a meeting of the Council of Heads of State. "During that meeting, [the leaders] will sum up results of the Organization's work in 2024-2025 and consider the matter of strengthening the organization, advancing cooperation in the spheres of politics, security, economy and humanitarian ties. Of course, the leaders will exchange their views on the most important and pressing topics of the international and regional agendas," Ushakov said.

The meeting will conclude with a document-signing ceremony.

"We expect some 20 documents in total. The central one will be a declaration of the Council of Heads of State, called the Tianjin declaration, it will reflect the consolidated approaches to pressing regional and international problems, including in the spheres of economy, and outline the Organization's objectives in each of the many areas of its work," Ushakov said.

Among important documents will be core areas of the future SCO development, to be determined in a 2035 development strategy, he said.

Also, it is expected that agreements will be signed to create a center for countering security challenges and threats, to be based in Tashkent around the existing SCO anti-terrorism infrastructure. "An agreement also will be signed to create a SCO anti-drug center to be headquartered in Dushanbe," Ushakov said.

In addition, the upcoming summit will make a resolution to make Laos a partner in dialogue, he said. "Laos' candidature was approved by SCO foreign ministers in the summer," Ushakov said.

At all of these events special attention will be paid to the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, he said. "The SCO summit will adopt a special joint statement in which the leaders will pay tribute to the nations which defeated fascism, Nazism and militarism, and reaffirm the SCO countries' commitment to peace and development," Ushakov said.

Later that day there will be a SCO plus meeting involving the observer states, partners in dialogue, the guests of the SCO chairman, and leaders of the partner organizations, he said. "The topic of the upcoming SCO plus meeting: making multilateralism a reality, ensuring regional security and fostering sustainable development," Ushakov said.

The summit will conclude with Kyrgyzstan taking over as SCO chairman in 2025-2026. "Naturally, we will work closely with our Kyrgyz partners, support them in every way, where necessary," Ushakov said.

From Tianjin the Russian president will travel to Beijing, where his official visit to China will take place, and also attend events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over the militarist japan and the end of the Second World War, the aide said.