SCO's New Secretary General Yermekbayev Takes Office, Outlines Visa Policy, Organizational Priorities, Reports to Toqayev

Nurlan Yermekbayev officially began his tenure as Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on January 1, 2025, marking the occasion with a meeting with Kazakhstan's President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev.

During their meeting, Yermekbayev briefed the President on the SCO's current activities and future plans, with Toqayev emphasizing the organization's unique significance in fostering political, economic, and cultural cooperation in international relations.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Yermekbayev addressed the organization's approach to visa policies in one of his first statements as Secretary General.

He clarified that while the SCO is not currently pursuing a comprehensive visa-free regime across all member states, they are working towards visa liberalization.

This initiative falls under the broader framework of tourism cooperation between SCO member states, with tourism administrators meeting annually to coordinate efforts.

The most recent ministerial-level meeting in Almaty in May 2024 resulted in adopting a joint action plan for 2024-2025, which includes exploring visa liberalization options.

Yermekbayev highlighted several existing bilateral visa-free arrangements, including agreements between China and Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan and the Macao Special Administrative Region, China and Uzbekistan, and China and Belarus.

He noted that visa-free travel arrangements continue to be primarily established through bilateral agreements rather than organization-wide policies.

Established in 2001, the SCO comprises ten member states: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. 

Afghanistan and Mongolia serve as observer countries, while fourteen partner countries include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Türkiye, and Sri Lanka.

The organization conducts its official business in Russian and Chinese.

During his meeting with President Toqayev, particular emphasis was placed on regional and global security matters.

Toqayev advocated for enhancing the organization's effectiveness and strengthening its collaboration with other international bodies while expressing support for Kazakhstan's initiative to promote the SCO's vision of "World Unity for a Just Peace, Harmony and Development."

Original Authors: Rimma Karatayeva, Artem Volkov