Representatives from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states convened in Beijing on Sunday for a tree planting activity, highlighting a unified effort toward sustainable development while further consolidating ties with China.
At the SCO Youth Friendship Forest located in the Beijing Wildlife Park, representatives planted trees symbolizing their nations, followed by the collective planting of white pine trees, which are emblems of enduring friendship. This symbolic act reflected the unity and friendship of the SCO family.
SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev delivered a speech emphasizing the significance of the event in advancing the organization's mission to foster people-to-people exchanges, promote sustainable development, and cultivate harmony and mutual understanding. "This year is called the year of sustainable development, and this activity that we did today is a small part in that effort. This year, it's the presidency of China in SCO, and we see a lot of activities being organized, more than 100 activities have been organized. China is taking an active role in promoting the further development of our organization," said SCO Deputy Secretary-General Janesh Kane, who also participated in the activity.
Assuming the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024-2025, China will host the SCO summit in northern Tianjin Municipality this autumn.
Under the theme "Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move," China has spearheaded over 100 initiatives spanning political, security, economic, and people-to-people fields. Already, more than one-third of these events have successfully been implemented, demonstrating tangible progress.
With nine member states, three observer states and 14 dialogue partners, the SCO is now the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographical scale and population.
Representatives of SCO members plant friendship trees in Beijing
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.
Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.
The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.
Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest
