A three-day SCO Forum on Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development kicked off in the city of Yangling, Shaanxi Province of China on May 29.

The theme of the forum, which was initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO summit in Samarkand in 2022 and organized by China's SCO Committee for Good Neighborly Cooperation and Friendship, together with the National Bureau for Rural Revitalization and the People's Government of Shaanxi Province, is “Exchanges for Mutual Enrichment.  Collaboration for the Common Benefit.”

The forum is being attended by leading international figures, including representatives of the SCO member nations, as well as observer countries and dialogue partners, to discuss and address global poverty to achieve sustainable development.

From the Central Asian member nations of the SCO, only Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have bene represented at the forum.  The delegation of Uzbekistan is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov, and Kyrgyzstan’s delegation is led by Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Security and Migration Zhyldyz Polotova.

Tajikistan has not been participating in the event for unknown reasons.

On the first day of the forum, May 29, the opening ceremony, presentation of the results of two studies and a panel discussion took place.

The forum was opened by Wang Xiao, a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Provincial Committee and Executive Governor of Shaanxi province, who introduced and welcomed all the participants.

Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress, Zhao Yide, made a keynote speech in which he underlined China's achievements in eradicating poverty, future plans for rural revitalization, and increasing agricultural products.  

Uzbekistan's Deputy PM, Vice Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, and Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Security, and Migration of Kyrgyzstan were among the other speakers who explained about their countries' experiences in fighting poverty.

Two reports were presented at the forum: "Poverty Reduction and Development in the SCO Member States" and "Agrarian Integration and Standardization in the SCO Member States".

About 20 speakers from China and other participating countries took part in the parallel forum and panel discussion.  

Representatives of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Turkey, Maldives, the UN Resident Coordinator and the representative of the United Nations FAO project in China also shared their experience in reducing poverty.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defense organization.  It is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 60% of the area of Eurasia, 40% of the world population. Its combined GDP is around 20% of global GDP.

The SCO currently has eight full members -- China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Iran (September 17, 2021) and Belarus (September 16, 2022) are acceding members.

Besides, Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are four observer states.

SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Turkiye.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are upcoming dialogue partners.

ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.