The heads of the SCO member states, as well as the heads of international organizations, gathered at the Palace of Independence to participate in the SCO Plus summit, El.kz reports.
The theme of the SCO Plus meeting is "Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue – Striving for Sustainable Peace and Development".
The meeting in the SCO Plus format is held with the participation of Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Turkmenistan.
In this part of the summit, global issues will be raised. Prior to that, a number of documents were signed during the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member states. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State that the expansion of trade and economic ties is another important area of cooperation.
The President of Kazakhstan noted the historical significance of the meeting.
"We have launched a new Shanghai ten and gathered for the first time within the framework of the SCO Plus format," he said.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on the full membership of the Republic in the SCO. He also separately greeted UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
"The dialogue in the SCO Plus format is a great opportunity to determine the vector of our further mutually beneficial partnership, as well as to compare notes on topical issues of the regional and global agenda," the President of Kazakhstan said.