One-minute silence observed to pay tribute to late Iranian President Raisi at SCO

ASTANA: Foreign ministers and diplomats from around a dozen of Iran’s political and economic partners including Pakistan paid tribute to late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday.

Raisi and Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

Envoys from Russia, China, India and Pakistan were among those who stood for a minute’s silence at the start of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

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“Despite these difficult times, Iranian representatives are taking part in this ministerial council for the first time,” Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a statement released by his office.

The SCO is designed to boost relations, trade and investment between among its members, primarily with four Central Asian republics — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran joined last year.

This week’s meeting of foreign ministers is laying the groundwork for a leaders’ summit set to take place in Astana in July.