Turkey participated actively in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a dialogue partner.
China’s Ambassador to China Yu Hongyang, referring to the connection between Turkey and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), declared, “China appreciates the intent of Turkey to join the SCO and is ready to jointly consider Turkey’s participation on a consultation basis to the organization with other member countries. ” .
Mr. Hongyang pointed out that space and nuclear sectors are among the important aspects of China-Turkey cooperation. He recalled the Turkish GK-2 earth observation suit which is successfully launched by China in 2012 and their intense contact within the framework of Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) of which the two countries are members.
In nuclear, he explained that Chinese companies are closely following Turkey’s related nuclear power plant programs. At the end of last June, China National Energy Administration Director Nur Bekri and Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak signed a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation of civilian nuclear power on behalf of the two countries.
The bilateral meeting between Turkish President Erdogan and Chinese President Xi Jinping held during the One Road-One belt Forum for International Cooperation in China on 14-15 May 2017 is the 4th bilateral meeting of the two leaders within two years.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organization, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.
Except the member states the SCO counts
- six observer states, namely the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Mongolia, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
- six dialogue partners, namely the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Republic of Turkey, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.