On August 28, 2025 the Forum on the Integration Development of Science, Education, Trade, Economy and Culture was held in Qingdao (PRC).
The event was attended by representatives of more than ten countries, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, the Ministry of Education of the PRC and the leadership of the city of Qingdao.
As part of the Forum, an agreement was signed on the establishment of the Joint Research Center of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The document was signed by the Rector of the Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn, Professor Dogdurbek Chontoev and the Rector of Shandong University, Academician Li Shucai.
The Center will become the first joint research platform in Central Asia in the field of politics, economics, humanities and technology, and will also contribute to the training of highly qualified personnel for the SCO member states.
The center will operate on the basis of the Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn and Shandong University. Its objectives are to conduct joint scientific projects, organize conferences, exchange students and scientists, and implement joint educational programs.
The opening of the Center is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of SCO Summit, which will be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 3 with the participation of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov. The Summit session will be chaired by the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
The activities of the joint center will be regulated by an intergovernmental agreement between Kyrgyzstan and China in the field of education.
(c) Sofya Apaeva – Director of the Kyrgyz-Chinese Research Institute
