[Photo/sectsco.org]

On 16 March 2023, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming attended a working lunch hosted by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. During the lunch, both sides exchanged opinions on SCO development plans, as well as current international and regional situations.
Sergei Lavrov informed Zhang Ming about Russia's views on SCO modernisation processes under a decision by the SCO Heads of State Council, adopted at the September 2022 meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The SCO Secretary-General praised the involvement of Russia in facilitating the development of the SCO and expressed his desire to strengthen the organisation and to boost its popularity and influence in the international community, to protect the common interests of member states and to ensure the people's well-being by cooperating with the member states, including Russia.
That same day, Zhang Ming met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko. The sides exchanged opinions on topical issues on the SCO agenda in great detail and in the context of preparing for the SCO Heads of State Council meeting in mid-2023 in India.