SCO countries to hold joint counterterrorism drills in Belarus in 2026

BISHKEK, May 14. /TASS/. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries will hold joint counterterrorism drills in Belarus later in the year, Kyrgyz Security Council Secretary Adilet Orozbekov said, summing up the 21st meeting of Security Council Secretaries of SCO Member States held in Kyrgyzstan’s capital of Bishkek. "The parties reaffirmed their readiness to boost practical partnership based on the approved program for cooperation in the coming years, which includes efforts to counter extremist ideas in the period until 2030. Joint counterterrorism drills will be conducted in Belarus in 2026 as part of the work to implement the plan," he pointed out. According to the security official, Kazakhstan will host a similar exercise in 2027. "These kinds of command and staff activities are the most effective way to ensure cohesion, and they also contribute to maintaining peace and regional security," Orozbekov noted. He went on to say that the Bishkek meeting "was focused on issues" related to collective security and stability across SCO countries. "The parties held a thorough exchange of views on the current international situation and discussed joint efforts to ensure global and regional security," the Kyrgyz official said. He emphasized that the meeting’s participants reiterated the SCO was not an alliance "targeted against other countries." The organization is open to broad cooperation with other nations and international associations based on the SCO Charter, the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and international law, taking into account each other’s interests and developing a common approach to resolving regional and global issues. In addition, the SCO also calls on the international community to promote mutual respect "for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of states." Russia’s delegation to the Bishkek meeting was led by Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu.