SCO cultural, people-to-people exchanges cover more areas: official

TIANJIN, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation among Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries have been broadened over the past 20-plus years, an SCO official said Saturday.

Zuo Hongbo, secretary general of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission (GNFCC) of the SCO, made the remarks during a press briefing in the port city of Tianjin, where the largest-ever SCO summit will take place on Sunday and Monday.

Cooperation areas have expanded from science and technology, culture, education and healthcare into fields such as sports, tourism, media, think tanks, environmental protection and poverty alleviation, Zuo said.

She said flagship projects including the SCO universities, art festivals, museum alliances, marathons, youth exchange camps and media forums have been launched, with mechanisms for cooperation in culture, healthcare, science and technology, and education improved.

The GNFCC has established ties and maintained close cooperation with nearly 30 friendship organizations, more than 10 think tanks and over 100 media outlets across SCO countries, according to Zuo.