The 5th Meeting of Ministers and Heads of Departments of the SCO Member States was held today in Astana, El.kz reports with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The event was attended by the SCO Secretary-General, Mr. Zhang Ming, as well as delegations from India, Iran, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Nysanbayev addressed the participants of the meeting with a welcoming speech.
"Over the 23 years of its activity, the SCO has become one of the most influential international institutions and an effective tool in strengthening cooperation between our countries and taking the necessary steps to solve regional and global problems.
Environmental problems have no borders and all SCO countries have similar environmental problems that need to be solved only together," he said.
Further, the heads of delegations made reports on the current state and prospects for the development of cooperation in the field of environmental protection within the SCO.
Also during the meeting, a number of issues were considered aimed at developing joint actions in solving environmental issues, climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, effective waste management, developing cooperation in the field of specially protected natural areas and others.
“I am confident that today's meeting will be a good impetus for improving the SCO's activities in the field of environmental protection and the implementation of the tasks set before us by the Heads of our countries. I wish all the participants of the meeting fruitful work," Yerlan Nysanbayev said.