On January 21, 2026, Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev met with Qiang Xiaoyun, Director of the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Academy of International Studies, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretariat in Beijing.

The Secretary-General noted the active participation of the Center, the Academy, and the President of the Academy, Mr. Chen Dongxiao, in organizing research and analytical events on SCO topics, including with the participation of the Secretariat. He emphasized that the International Academic Seminar “Women’s Views on the SCO,” annually organized by the Academy jointly with the Chinese SCO Committee on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation, has gained high prestige within the Organization.

On May 21-22, 2025, representatives of the Secretariat participated in the 20^th SCO Forum in New Delhi, where they exchanged views on a wide range of issues, including enhancing the effectiveness of multilateral cooperation in providing expert and analytical support for SCO activities. Nurlan Yermekbayev expressed his readiness to support the efforts of the expert community of the Organization’s member states to improve existing mechanisms and adapt them to modern realities.

The Secretary-General expressed support for the Center’s initiatives, including the holding of a series of events this year at the Shanghai Academy of International Studies dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the SCO.

Qiang Xiaoyun, in turn, briefed on the activities of the Center, which she heads, as well as the Academy, in terms of regional and international analysis, SCO research, and scientific exchanges between research centers of the Organization’s member states.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached to maintain close working contacts, including in the context of events commemorating the Organization’s 25^th anniversary.

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