The Fourth Meeting of the Heads of Ministries and Departments of Environment Protection from SCO Member States was chaired by Shri Bhupender Yadav, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. The meeting was attended by senior delegations from SCO Member States, headed by Ministers/Deputy Ministers from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and a representative from the SCO Secretariat under India’s SCO Presidency.
Prior to this meeting, there was 3rd Expert Group Level Meeting on 17th April, 2023, 1st Ad hoc Expert Group Meeting on 18 January 2023 and the 2nd Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting on 15 February 2023 with four resumed sessions which were all held virtually.
In the Meeting, there were statements/speeches by the SCO Member States on the status and prospects for developing cooperation in the field of environment protection in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states and follow up of the action plan to implement the 2022-24 concept of cooperation in the field of environment protection of SCO member states.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Bhupender Yadav said India’s SCO Presidency is guided by the mantra, “TOWARDS A “SECURE” SCO”, which was given by our Prime Minister at the Qingdao Summit in 2018.He said India attaches special importance to SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interaction in the region.
Sharing India’s Experiences and LiFE, Shri Yadav mentioned about the Mission LiFE, which was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 20th October 2022. He invited the SCO community to be a part of Mission LiFE for individual, family and community-based actions.
The meeting resulted in adoption of the Joint communiqué on the results of the Fourth Meeting of the Heads of Ministries and Agencies of the SCO Member States Responsible for Environmental Protection Issues, 18th April, 2023, New Delhi. The Joint Communique has been framed on the basis of the SCO Action Plan to implement the 2022-24 concept of cooperation in the field of environment protection.
