16-17 April 2008 the Secretariat hosted consultations among the press services of the Foreign Ministries of the SCO member states. The parties adopted the Plan on information coverage of the Dushanbe Heads of State Council meeting due this August. A wide range of issues was discussed, including increasing the information activity of the SCO, strengthening interaction among the press services of the Foreign Ministries and mass media of the SCO member states.

The parties approved the new design of the SCO Secretariat website, backed the Chinese initiative to stage an SCO Achievements photo exhibition, and deemed expedient to put more effort into the information coverage of the activities of the Business Council, Interbank Consortium and SCO Forum.

The parties heard Russian proposals concerning the staging of several media events scheduled during the Russian presidency of the SCO in 2008-2009.

The parties expressed support for the efforts of the government and people of the People’s Republic of China to ensure successful staging of the Beijing Olympics. The Chinese side encouraged media representatives from SCO member states to go to China to cover the Beijing Olympics and expressed its readiness to provide necessary assistance and convenient environment for their work.