QINGDAO -- Officials and delegates from 16 countries attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Forum on People-to-People Friendship in Qingdao of Shandong Province in east China on June 15.
Participants discussed ways to carry forward the "Shanghai spirit," the set of values underpinning the SCO and promote people-to-people exchanges across various fields at the forum.

"The member states, observer states and dialog partners of the SCO are getting more and more, while the fields of cooperation are expanding. This fully demonstrates the Shanghai Spirit focusing on the main subjects of mutual trust, mutual benefit, consultation, equality, respecting diverse civilizations and seeking common development, is in line with the trend of the times and gaining popularity. It has set a new example of building new type of international relations," said Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

SCO member states have promoted sister city cooperation, supporting the establishment of partnerships while holding a series of activities geared toward promoting cultural exchange.

On Thursday, vice mayor of Qingdao signed new sister city agreements with three cities.
The sister city partnership has enhanced the exchanges between Qingdao and other cities around the world.

"As for the agreement between the sister cities of Yerevan and Qingdao, we think it's an opportunity to deepen the relationship. We welcome any relationship, any cooperation and any work at the state level, at the level of regions, and at the level of cities. This will deepen mutual understanding of each other," said Sergey Manassarian, Ambassador of Armenia to China.

Attendees said it is necessary to develop ideas from sister city exchanges and deepen cooperation among SCO countries, in areas such as health care, education, technological innovation and connectivity, and bring more benefits to the people of member states.
"One of the prioritized fields we want to deepen cooperation in is science and technology and education, because the IT industry in Qingdao is developing very fast. What we see first is cooperation in IT industry and then in education," said Erkinjon Radjabov, Deputy Mayor of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Many of the guests in attendance said they will firmly carry forward the Shanghai Spirit, enhance mutual trust, and jointly safeguard security and stability of the countries and regions.

Attending guests said since its establishment, the SCO has respected cultural diversity and conducted exchanges among different cultural groups, which is increasingly being recognized by the international community. They added that member states should demonstrate the advantages and achievements of cooperation between SCO countries to the world.

Sub-forums were also held Thursday, under themes of scientific and technological innovation, education, cultural exchanges, poverty reduction and development.