China to Host Fifth SCO Defense, Security Forum November

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China is to host the Fifth Defense and Security Forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on November 20-29, the country's defense ministry announced on Friday.

“The Chinese Defense Ministry will host the Fifth Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense and Security Forum from November 20-29, 2023, with the defense departments representatives, experts and academics from the SCO member states, states-observers and partner in dialogue states invited,” the statement, published on the official ministerial website, read.

There will be expert lectures, seminars and exchanges of opinion between the participants planned within the forum.

The event is aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and mutual trust between the military of the participant states, at studying and discussing the ways to deepen SCO cooperation in the field of defense and security, as well as at actively building a closer SCO community with a shared future.

The SCO is an intergovernmental organization currently comprising nine member states: China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It also has three observer states: Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkiye are among the organization's 14 dialogue partners. In July, the members signed a memorandum on Belarus' obligations for accession to the bloc, which is officially expected in 2024.