DUSHANBE, 18.08.2021 (NIAT Khovar) – Today, Dushanbe hosted the meeting of the Ministers of Culture of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) via videoconference. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Culture Tajikistan Zulfiya Davlatzoda.

The meeting was attended by the ministers of culture of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, as well as the SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov.

The meeting focused on the state and prospects for the development of cooperation in the field of culture within the SCO.

The ministers also exchanged views on the implementation of the agreement between the SCO governments in the field of culture and the agreements of the past meetings of the ministers of culture.

The officials spoke in favor of further developing multilateral and bilateral cultural ties within the organization, strengthening mutual understanding between the nations, preserving the diversity of cultures, mutual respect, and the dissemination of knowledge about the traditions and customs of all people living in the SCO space.

They noted the constructive work of the Expert Working Group on Cultural Interaction within the SCO.

The ministers emphasized that their meeting provided an excellent opportunity to exchange views on the development of bilateral and multilateral cultural cooperation.

They expressed their readiness to establish and develop interaction in the field of culture with the SCO observer states and dialogue partners.

An agreement was reached to hold the next meeting next year in Uzbekistan.