On July 7, 2025, the 22nd Meeting of Ministers of Culture of the SCO Member States took place in Qingdao.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aida Balayeva, praised the high level of organization and emphasized that the SCO has become an international platform for the development of cultural dialogue and the expansion of humanitarian cooperation.
“Culture is not only a tradition of the past, but also a living language of the future. The more actively we develop joint initiatives, the stronger the spiritual unity of the SCO countries will become,” Aida Balayeva stated.
Among the key cultural initiatives are the SCO Youth Festival and the Forum of Young Leaders of the SCO. Several landmark projects have been launched, including “Spiritual Shrines of the SCO Countries” and the first international music festival “SCO Silk Road”, held in Almaty in 2024 with the participation of musical groups from SCO member states.
As for future prospects, the Minister proposed to enhance cooperation in supporting the creative industries, promoting tourism, and expanding intercultural ties. One such initiative is the establishment of a mobile SCO Crafts and Decorative Arts Fair, which would be held alternately in SCO countries and bring together artisans, carpet weavers, ceramicists, and woodcarvers.
In addition, Aida Balayeva put forward the idea of implementing a “SCO Cultural Heritage Digital Platform”, which would include virtual museums of the SCO countries, works of art, catalogs of cultural sites, and masterclass video lessons.
She added that Kazakhstan is ready to offer its expert and organizational support for the implementation of these initiatives, including the development of a concept and the hosting of the first event in 2026 in the city of Almaty or Turkestan – the ancient spiritual center of the Great Steppe.
As part of the meeting, the Ministers of Culture of the SCO member states also held a collective meeting with Li Shulei, Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
Further discussions on cultural cooperation between Kazakhstan and China took place during a bilateral meeting between Aida Balayeva and Sun Yeli, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China. The participants highlighted the positive nature of the partnership and expressed interest in its further development.
Aida Balayeva also held a bilateral meeting with the Secretary-General of the SCO, Nurlan Yermekbayev.
The day concluded with the grand opening ceremony of the SCO Member States Arts and Youth Song Festival.
The event aims to foster cultural ties between East and West, promote national traditions, and further strengthen the friendship among SCO countries.
Kazakhstan was represented at the festival by young performers and winners of the state youth award “Daryn” — Sadraddin Bolat and Rukhiya Baidukenova.
The opening ceremony of the SCO Arts Festival and Youth Song Festival took the form of a youth song evening, dedicated to showcasing the rich cultural diversity of the SCO member states.
