BEIJING: At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a delegation led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is arriving in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Saturday to participate in the 25th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and to attend the 80th anniversary commemorations of China’s victory over Japanese colonial rule and the World Anti-Fascist Day.
The summit, to be inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping, will feature participation from the heads of state and government of 20 countries, including the 10 full member states of the SCO, as well as leaders of 10 international organisations.
The summit will take place in Tianjin on August 30- September 1. Invitations have been extended to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, among others.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Lu Bin provided this information during a press conference. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is also expected to attend the summit.
Nepal joined the SCO as a dialogue partner in 2016. The organisation, established in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, now includes India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus as full members.
The SCO, a political, economic, and international security organisation covering the Eurasian region, has Qatar, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Cambodia,
Azerbaijan, Maldives, Myanmar, the United Arab Emirates, Armenia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait as dialogue partners. Mongolia and Afghanistan are observer states.
Prime Minister Oli and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting on Saturday. On September 1, Prime Minister Oli will address the summit as a guest speaker.
On September 3, PM Oli will attend a memorial ceremony and military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japanese colonialism and the World Anti-Fascist Day.
Leaders from 26 countries are expected to attend the ceremony, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia, the Presidents of Vietnam, Indonesia, Mongolia, and the Maldives, as well as the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Pakistan.
During his visit to China, Prime Minister Oli is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several other heads of state and government.
