{"id":36910,"date":"2026-07-25T10:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=36910"},"modified":"2026-07-25T10:29:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:29:21","slug":"sco-foreign-ministers-meet-in-kyrgyzstan-to-discuss-regional-security-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/sco-foreign-ministers-meet-in-kyrgyzstan-to-discuss-regional-security-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"SCO Foreign Ministers meet in Kyrgyzstan to discuss regional security challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

4 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states met in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on July 24, 2026, to discuss major international and regional issues, preparations for the organization’s upcoming leaders’ summit, and reaffirm cooperation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regular meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (CMFA) brought together senior diplomats from all SCO member states, along with the organization’s top officials, as the bloc prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary at the Council of Heads of State Summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gathering also provided an opportunity for bilateral diplomacy, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holding talks on the sidelines amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Also participating were SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Uzbek Sharsheyev, Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the organization’s counterterrorism body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the ministerial session, the foreign ministers and heads of the SCO’s permanent bodies were received by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, highlighting Kyrgyzstan’s role as the host of this year’s high-level meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the discussions, ministers exchanged views on pressing international and regional developments and reviewed ways to strengthen cooperation within the SCO. The talks focused on enhancing coordination among member states and promoting the organization’s continued development.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"SCO<\/a>
SCO Foreign Ministers during the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on July 24, 2026. (Image Credit: Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretariat)<\/sup><\/em>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Focus Turns To September Summit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major focus of the meeting was preparing for the upcoming Council of Heads of State Summit, which will be held in Bishkek on September 1. Foreign ministers approved draft documents that will serve as the basis for discussions and adoption by national leaders during the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the key documents is the Bishkek Declaration marking the 25th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, alongside several thematic statements by member state leaders and several additional decisions covering the organization’s future work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministers also approved the SCO Secretary-General’s report on the work of the Secretariat and adopted the official Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs Statement, summarizing the outcomes of the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the ministerial session, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev held a joint press conference outlining the meeting’s results and the next steps ahead of the September summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


China and Iran Hold Bilateral Talks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the sidelines of the SCO meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi for talks on bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Chinese state media, the two ministers discussed cooperation between their countries as well as broader regional developments. The meeting came as tensions remain high in the Middle East following the collapse of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Chinese<\/a>
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States in Kyrgyzstan, on July 24, 2026. (Image Credit: Xinhua)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Regional tensions have intensified over the past two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced on July 8 that the ceasefire established under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was no longer in effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, the United States and Iran have exchanged military strikes. Washington has targeted sites inside Iran, while Tehran says it has carried out attacks against U.S. military facilities and equipment in several countries across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against this backdrop, the meeting between Wang and Araghchi underscored the importance of diplomatic engagement between two key SCO members during a period of growing instability in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Expanding Regional Role<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has evolved into one of the world’s largest regional organizations, bringing together countries across East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its agenda extends beyond security and counterterrorism to include political coordination, economic cooperation, regional connectivity and cultural exchanges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foreign ministers’ meeting in Cholpon-Ata reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to strengthening cooperation among member states while laying the groundwork for decisions expected at the September leaders’ summit in Bishkek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the SCO preparing to mark its 25th anniversary, the upcoming summit is expected to outline the organization’s future priorities as member states seek closer coordination on regional security, economic development and international affairs amid an increasingly complex global environment.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"SCO<\/a>
SCO Foreign Ministers posing for a group photo during the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on July 24, 2026. (Image Credit: Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretariat)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states met in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on July 24, 2026, to discuss major international and regional issues, preparations for the organization’s upcoming leaders’ summit, and reaffirm cooperation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,1],"tags":[137,380,147,181,45,310,208,70,30,273,274,8,71,20,249,113,182,275],"class_list":["post-36910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-news","tag-asia","tag-asia-pacific","tag-belarus","tag-central-asia","tag-china","tag-counterterrorism","tag-diplomacy","tag-india","tag-iran","tag-kazakhstan","tag-kyrgyzstan","tag-pakistan","tag-politics","tag-russia","tag-sco","tag-security","tag-tajikistan","tag-uzbekistan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SCO-Foreign-Ministers-group-photo.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-9Bk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36929,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36910\/revisions\/36929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}