China today announced that Premier Li Keqiang will attend the 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of Govt. of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states to be held under India’s chairmanship on Nov. 30th.
This is the first time after joining the SCO in 2017 that India has got the opportunity to host this meeting which will be held through video link. Chinese Foreign Ministry today said, the upcoming meeting of heads of govt is an important event under SCO framework this year. It said, Premier Li Keqiang and other leaders will hold in depth communication and exchange at the meeting, on deepening SCO cooperation amid the pandemic and formulate more practical measures to push national economic recovery to promote faster and better development of SCO.
Last week, SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov at a Press conference in Beijing said that economic cooperation will remain the focus area during the upcoming 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of Govt (HOG). In the run up to the 19th HOG under its chairmanship, India has held many events and activities including launch of SCO startup forum, meeting of SCO Trade Ministers, Law Ministers, Health Ministers and forum on traditional medicine among others.
Created in 2001, the SCO is a political, economic, and security bloc comprising eight members – India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. SCO member states account for around 42% of the world’s population, 22% of the land area, and around 20% of global GDP. SCO countries collectively account for more than 1/7th of global goods trade and nearly 1/8th of world trade in commercial services.
