VIENTIANE: President Thongloun Sisoulith arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday (Aug 31) with a high-level delegation to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus Dialogue Partners Meeting (SCO Plus), marking Laos’ first official participation as an SCO Dialogue Partner.
Upon arrival at Manas International Airport at noon, the President and his delegation were welcomed by high-ranking Kyrgyzstan officials.
President Thongloun was invited to attend the meeting by President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.
The SCO Plus meeting, held on Aug 31-Sept 1, takes the theme “The United Nations as a Key Element of a Fair World Order: the Contribution of the SCO Plus States to the Formation of a Multipolar World”.
It brings together heads of state, heads of government, and representatives of SCO member states, dialogue partners, and observer countries.
During the gathering, President Thongloun also plans to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts to discuss the direction of future cooperation.
Later in the day, President Thongloun received SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev and praised his leadership in strengthening cooperative relations within the SCO framework.
The Lao leader described these efforts as an important contribution to peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region and the world.
President Thongloun said he highly valued the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding granting Laos Dialogue Partner status in July 2026, calling it an important milestone in a new phase of cooperation.
He reaffirmed Laos’ determination to participate responsibly in SCO mechanisms and to translate its Dialogue Partner status into concrete results that deliver genuine benefits.
He highlighted four priority areas for future cooperation between Laos and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The four areas comprise trade, investment and the upgrading of production capacity; agriculture and food security, connectivity and trade facilitation; and digital transformation and human resource development.
For his part, Secretary-General Yermekbayev expressed appreciation for Laos’ role as a Dialogue Partner and said he highly valued the good cooperative relations developed between the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Laos.
He affirmed the readiness of the SCO Secretariat to coordinate closely with the Lao side to expand cooperation, particularly in priority areas, so that it becomes ever more substantive.
Laos’ participation as a Dialogue Partner and the high-level exchanges in Bishkek underscore the government’s commitment to deeper engagement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and to advancing practical cooperation that supports regional connectivity, economic development, and mutual benefit. - Vientiane Times/ANN
