MOSCOW: Monitoring Desk – On November 18, 2025, the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO CHG) was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of the Russian side. The Heads of Government thoroughly discussed current trends in the global economy and further ways to strengthen the economic dimension of the SCO’s activities. An exchange of views took place on topical issues of the current agenda, with an emphasis on practical cooperation and improving the Organization’s work.
The “restricted” meeting was attended by
Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Turchin,
Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,
First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Aref,
Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov,
Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang,
Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Adylbek Kasymaliev,
Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar,
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin,
Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Kokhir Rasulzoda,
Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov,
as well as SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Ularbek Sharsheev.
The discussion of the heads of delegations of the SCO member states in an expanded format was held with the participation of the heads of government of Mongolia and the State of Qatar, high-ranking representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Kuwait, Turkmenistan, high-level officials of the executive bodies of the SCO, the CIS, the EAEU, and the CICA, as well as the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium. The participants of the meeting touched upon promising areas of trade, economic, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation within the SCO, including by utilizing the potential of partners.
Secretary-General of the Organization Nurlan Yermekbayev emphasized the importance of consolidating efforts aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of sectoral cooperation mechanisms and implementing the decisions and initiatives of the leaders.
It was noted that the introduction of attractive conditions, regimes, and preferences for the SCO member states, the implementation of the political decision to establish the SCO Development Bank by interested parties, and the involvement of commercial banks in financial cooperation within the Organization could contribute to achieving more tangible practical results.
During the meeting, reports were heard from authorized representatives on the activities of the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium for 2024-2025.
Following the meeting, the Heads of Government of the SCO member states adopted a Joint Communiqué and signed a number of decisions, including those concerning the implementation of the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation, the development of interaction in the field of railway transportation, and social development and social protection. The Organization’s budget for the next year was approved.
An agreement was reached that the next meeting will be held in the Republic of Tajikistan in 2026.
