The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation met in a restricted format, followed by an expanded meeting joined by the heads of delegations of the SCO observer countries and international organisations.
The summit agenda includes current issues of the SCO activities, the anti-terrorist efforts, the Middle East situation and the decision to grant India and Pakistan the status of full members in the organisation.
The SCO Summit has resulted in the adoption of a series of documents, including the Astana Declaration, which outlines the consolidated approaches of the SCO member-states to the development of the organisation and their positions on the key international issues; the Convention on Counteracting Extremism, the Statement of the SCO Heads of State on the Joint Counteraction of International Terrorism, and others. The summit participants also approved the membership of India and Pakistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The event was attended by delegation heads of the SCO observer states: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States Sergei Lebedev, Deputy Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Amanzhol Zhankuliyev, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Le Luong Minh and Executive Director of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia Jianwei Gong, also attended the meeting.
The President of Russia arrived in Kazakhstan the day before. He has met with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, who is also attending the SCO Summit, to discuss current bilateral and international issues, including the preparations for the Chinese leader’s upcoming visit to Russia.
Vladimir Putin also attended a concert held for the opening of the SCO Summit in Astana.