Azerbaijan, China first ladies take part in SCO Plus river excursion Photo

On September 1, Azerbaijan’s First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva and her daughter Arzu Aliyeva joined China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan, along with the spouses of heads of state and government, taking part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus (SCO Plus) summit, for a boat trip along the Haihe River in Tianjin, according to Azertag.

Over 20 national leaders and more than 10 heads of international organisations took part in the SCO Plus meeting. President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan previously attended the SCO Summit meetings in Samarkand in 2022 and Astana in 2024.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Its full membership now comprises ten countries: Russia, Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan and Mongolia are observers, while Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Armenia, Qatar, Kuwait, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Sri Lanka participate as dialogue partners.

The SCO seeks to maintain regional stability and security, foster economic cooperation and energy partnerships, and promote scientific and cultural exchanges. Meetings of member state leaders have been held annually since 2002.

By Aghakazim Guliyev