Future of SCO 'full of hope', official says

At a farewell event held in Beijing on Tuesday for Zhang Ming, the outgoing secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the senior Chinese diplomat and his colleagues from SCO member states expressed their strong faith in the group's future growth and solidarity.

"History will continue to testify to the strong vitality of the Shanghai Spirit. The future of the SCO is full of hope, and there are heavy responsibilities on the way forward," Zhang said in his speech at the event.

In July, China took over the SCO's rotating presidency and will host the 25th SCO Summit next year.

Liu Bin, China's assistant foreign minister, said, "We are ready to take this opportunity to act on the presidency slogan, 'Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move', and join hands with all member states to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders."

Beijing will work to improve the SCO mechanism for addressing security threats and challenges, work on the SCO Development Strategy through 2035, and stay committed to its sustainable development goals, Liu added.

Zhang, the outgoing SCO secretary-general, said he expects the group to be more practical, deliver more tangible benefits to the people, keep pace with the times through steadfast modernization and reform, and "further improve its efficiency, dynamism and the capacity of implementation".

On Jan 1, 2022, Zhang took office for a term of three years. During this period, the SCO expanded to include two new member states and eight dialogue partners. It now has 10 member states, two observer nations and 14 dialogue partners.

Zhang noted that in the past three years, the group has explored the establishment of an SCO financing mechanism by removing traditional bottlenecks that hinder cooperation, and has actively facilitated its modernization and reform.

His foreign colleagues also voiced appreciation on behalf of their countries for Zhang's dedication to the continuously evolving group.

Kazakh Ambassador to China Shakhrat Nuryshev said Zhang's achievements are highly appreciated by the leadership in Kazakhstan. "President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has decided to award you with the Order of Dostyk of the second degree," he added.

At the end of his speech, Zhang introduced his successor, Nurlan Yermekbayev, former minister of defense of Kazakhstan, to the audience.