On May 13, 2025, the Ninth Meeting of Ministers of Education of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States was held in the city of Ürümqi, People’s Republic of China.

The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China in cooperation with the SCO Secretariat. The event was opened by China’s Minister of Education, Huai Jinpeng. Deputy Secretary-General of the SCO, Janesh Kane, and the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ma Xingrui, also delivered welcoming remarks to the participants.

During the meeting, ministers of education and heads of delegations from SCO member states discussed ongoing reforms in the education sector, sectoral strategies, prospects for cooperation, and the development of digital education.

The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Kongratboy Sharipov, delivered a speech in which he emphasized the educational reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev—namely, the improvement of the quality of higher and secondary specialized education, the introduction of digital technologies in universities and technical schools, the strengthening of integration between education, science, and industry, and the expansion of international academic cooperation.

In his speech, Minister Sharipov proposed deepening cooperation within the SCO in the following priority areas, based on global trends and shared challenges in the field of education:
– digital transformation of education and the organization of learning in new formats,
– promotion of sustainable development and “green” skills,
– transforming universities into centers of innovation and economic growth,
– expanding academic mobility and developing mechanisms for mutual recognition of qualifications.

In addition, Minister Sharipov proposed including new fields of study in the SCO University curriculum, such as “Artificial Intelligence and Big Data,” “Sustainable Development and Green Technologies,” and “Medicine and Biotechnology.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, several important documents were adopted, including the “Communiqué of the Ninth Meeting of SCO Ministers of Education”, the “Ürümqi Initiative”, and the “SCO Digital Education Development Plan.” Furthermore, the SCO Digital Education Alliance and the “China-SCO” Innovative Postgraduate Training Center were established.

The event is expected to further strengthen mutual trust, friendship, and close cooperation in the field of education across the SCO region.