The SCO Member States Media Cooperation Forum was held in Urumqi, the administrative center of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The event, organized by one of China’s leading newspapers, People’s Daily, in cooperation with the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, brought together heads of ministries and agencies responsible for the information sector, as well as leaders of major news agencies, media outlets, and media organizations from SCO member states, observers, and dialogue partners.

At the opening ceremony, welcoming remarks were delivered by Ma Xingrui, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Yu Shaoliang, Editor-in-Chief of “People’s Daily”, and Sohail Khan, Deputy Secretary-General of the SCO.

Among the forum’s key speakers was Abdusaid Kuchimov, Director General of the Uzbekistan National News Agency (UzA). In his address, he highlighted the dynamic development in recent years of cooperation between China and the Central Asian countries, particularly Uzbekistan, especially in the information field. He emphasized that the decisive factor in strengthening bilateral ties has been the relationship built on mutual trust and friendship between the leaders of the two states.

Speaking about the recognition of the SCO’s successful activities on the international stage, Mr. Kuchimov drew the participants’ attention to the significant responsibility placed on the media in today’s environment and the importance of joining efforts.

At the forum, the report titled “Common Home: Public Opinion on the Development Visions in SCO Member States” was presented, prepared by “People’s Daily” and the research center of “Global Times”. According to the survey results, the people of the SCO countries widely support the Shanghai Spirit and express strong interest in deepening intergovernmental cooperation across various sectors.

This study vividly demonstrated that the Shanghai Spirit continues to serve as a unifying force, reflecting the aspirations of the SCO member states’ peoples for advancing regional cooperation.

Participants exchanged views on the global media’s pressing challenges.

Sherzod Isayev, UzA