SCO forum on poverty reduction, sustainable development opens

XI'AN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 SCO (the Shanghai Cooperation Organization) Forum on Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development opened Tuesday in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Shen Yueyue, vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairperson of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the SCO, read out Chinese President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter and delivered a keynote speech.

The congratulatory letter fully demonstrates President Xi's strong emphasis on eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development, as well as his earnest expectations for deepening exchanges and mutual learning among SCO countries and building an SCO community with a shared future, Shen said.

She also noted that poverty reduction and sustainable development align with the aspirations of the SCO countries to improve people's livelihood and seek development. These efforts are of great significance for accelerating the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"We must uphold fairness and justice and optimize the poverty reduction environment, strengthen mutual learning to achieve win-win cooperation, strengthen technological support and enhance the effectiveness of poverty reduction," Shen said, adding that SCO countries should build consensus and strength and join hands to move towards modernization, promote cooperation on poverty reduction and sustainable development, and contribute to achieving common prosperity.