Lavrov wrote in an article for Kommersant newspaper, “Today, our countries are acting as driving forces to refine the activities of the SCO and make it one of the fundamental pillars of the Eurasian security architecture and the emerging polycentric world order as a whole.”

The article was published to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between Russia and China.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Lavrov will participate in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO member countries scheduled for July 23-24 in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan.

Founded in 2001, the SCO currently comprises 10 full members: Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The organization has two observer states, Afghanistan and Mongolia, and 14 dialogue partners, including Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Myanmar, Cambodia, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkiye.

jdt/iff/nmr/gfa