SCO member states to foster cultural, tourism cooperation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states will work together to develop more high-quality cultural and tourism projects to enhance people-to-people and cultural ties, according to China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Monday.

This commitment was made at the 22nd meeting of the SCO Ministers of Culture and a conference of tourism department leaders from SCO member states, both of which were held on Monday in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province.

China, which holds the rotating presidency of the SCO, presided over both sessions attended by officials and representatives of 10 SCO member states and the SCO secretary-general.

Key agreements included the nomination of Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan as the candidate city for the 2025-2026 "SCO tourism and culture capital," and the adoption of a list of SCO cultural exchange programs for 2025.