Tashkent, 28 May 2022 (TDI): The Third Meeting of Heads of Ministries and Departments of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States Responsible for Environmental Protection Issues took place in Tashkent on May 27, 2022, under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan.
Heads and representatives of ministries and departments responsible for environmental issues from the SCO Member States (India, Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan) as well as the SCO Secretariat attended the meeting in a hybrid format.
Mr. Narzullo Oblomuradov, Chairman of the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan, presided over the meeting.
Firstly, the chiefs of delegations presented reports on the current situation. They also discussed the potential for developing cooperation in the sphere of environmental protection among the SCO Member States.
Moreover, the nations discussed the execution of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the SCO Member States’ Concept of Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection for the Period 2022-2024. It was previously accepted at the SCO Summit in Dushanbe on September 17, 2021.
The parties also agreed to the Program for Joint Creation of the SCO Platform for Environmental Information Exchange and suggested adopting it.
In addition, the SCO Secretariat decided on the next (fourth) Meeting of the Heads of Ministries and Departments Responsible for Environmental Issues in 2023.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization:
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization came into existence in 2001, in Shanghai by six countries. These were China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The SCO’s main goals are to
- foster good relations among member countries;
- encourage collaboration in political, economics and trade, scientific-technical, cultural, and educational spheres, and energy, transportation, tourism, and environmental protection;
- maintain regional peace, security, and stability;
- and establish a representative democracy and equal and fair international economic and political order.
Furthermore, the SCO countries have negotiated an intergovernmental agreement on simplifying the international road network. The Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific would provide assistance with this.
