DUSHANBE, 19.06.2025 (NIAT Khovar) – On June 17, the 4th Meeting of Ministers and Heads of Agencies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States responsible for the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) was held in Karamay, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Xiong Jinjun, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology of China.

According to the SCO Secretariat in Beijing, ahead of the ministerial, on 16 June, the leadership of Xinjiang held a welcoming meeting with the heads of SCO delegations. The guests expressed appreciation to the People’s Government of Xinjiang and the city of Karamay for hosting the event and for their warm hospitality. They also acknowledged Xinjiang’s significant contribution to advancing regional cooperation. Special emphasis was placed on the “China-SCO Big Data Cooperation Center” in Karamay as a promising digital hub for the SCO region.

During the official meeting, participants emphasized that digital transformation is a key driver of global economic growth and social progress. The delegations voiced their readiness to deepen cooperation in areas such as the development of digital and public digital infrastructure, e-government, smart cities, industrial digitization, and the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Special attention was given to addressing the digital divide and enhancing the ICT competitiveness of SCO member states.

As a result of the discussions, the participants unanimously agreed to rename the meeting from “Meeting of Heads of ICT Ministries and Agencies of SCO Member States” to the SCO Ministerial Meeting on Digital and Information and Communication Technologies. This change reflects the strengthened institutional role of the mechanism and the growing importance of the digital agenda within the Organization.

The meeting also adopted the SCO Member States’ Action Plan on Digital Transformation, marking a significant step forward in intergovernmental ICT cooperation and sustainable socio-economic development across the SCO space.