PANAJI, /Goa, India/, May 4. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in a meeting of foreign ministers from the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held in Panaji in India’s southern state of Goa on May 4-5.

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the SCO top diplomats will discuss the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the SCO heads of state due in New Delhi on July 3-4. Apart from that, they will exchange views on issues on the international and regional agenda.

Along with the participation in the ministerial meeting, Lavrov is expected to hold a number of bilateral meeting.

The Russian foreign ministry said earlier that the sides are expected to discuss key regional and international problems focusing on issues of foreign policy coordination in the interests of strengthening the United Nations’ central coordinating role on issues of reliable global security and sustainable economic growth.

Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov noted that the SCO has a serious positive potential in the global arena and can generate worthy proposals to look for multilateral accord on a number of key matters.

The crisis around Ukraine is likely to be among the topics for discussion. The Russian foreign minister will share with his SCO counterparts Moscow’s position on the Ukrainian crisis. Notably, in his phone call with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on April 26, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing’s readiness to promote the establishment of negotiating process to end the conflict. The Chinese side will probably share its vision of work on this matter.

The agenda of the ministerial meeting also includes "an exchange of views on the modernization of the SCO activities and mechanisms for addressing challenges and threats to the security of the SCO member nations," the ministry said.

Apart from that, according to the ministry, in the context of joint efforts against terrorism, extremism, illegal drug trafficking and transborder organized crime, the sides will focus on the situation in Afghanistan, bearing in mind the importance of thwarting threats of the spread of instability from that country into the SCO space.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko noted that security cooperation between the SCO nations makes a serious contribution to stability of the SCO zone of responsibility.

The ministry stressed that Russia is ready for close cooperation with all the partners to ensure the successful holding of the upcoming SCO summit in New Delhi and to develop constructive cooperation within the organization.

The meeting in Goa will begin the final stage of preparations for the SCO summit. The ministers will focus on the summit’s agenda and will discuss draft documents to be considered by the leaders. Last year’s SCO summit in Samarkand yielded more than 20 documents.

The final political declaration is expected to reflect consolidated approaches to key aspects of the SCO activities, as well as to the current problems on the global and regional agenda.

"Among the draft documents of the Council of the SCO Heads of State, special significance is attached to documents related to formalizing Iran’s membership and promoting the process of Belarus’ admission to the organization," the Russian foreign ministry noted.

SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming said in March that the process of Minsk’s and Tehran’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was proceeding successfully.

As for economic topics, the sides are expected to touch upon issues of the transition to national currencies in mutual settlements. SCO Deputy Secretary General Grigory Logvinov said earlier that the organization was working on a roadmap for the transition to the use of national currencies.

One of the organization’s pillars is cultural and humanitarian cooperation. "In this context, the partners are considering Russia’s proposals on the establishment of a SCO association of sports organizations, the organization of SCO Games, which would be open for other countries, and on the establishment of a SCO medical association," the ministry added.

Special attention is expected to be focused on issues of the organization’s expansion. The ministers will approve a draft resolution of the SCO summit on granting membership to Iran. They will also discuss Belarus’ request for accelerating the procedure of its admission to the organization.

It is also planned to sign memorandums on granting the SCO dialogue partner status to Bahrain, Kuwait, Myanmar, the Maldives, and the United Arab Emirates.

Lavrov noted earlier that more and more countries of the Global South want to establish ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and be admitted as their full-fledged members. He said in February that BRICS and the SCO’s popularity with developing countries was growing because these were associations of a new type, unlike NATO and the European Union, with their heavy-handed discipline.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is open for cooperation with all international associations, including NATO, Logvinov said in late April. According to Logvinov, such cooperation could be possible if NATO made real efforts to address the challenges and threats facing humankind. "But, regrettably, it is impossible today. And not through our fault," he stressed.