The Meeting of Heads of Ministries and Departments of Science and Technology of the SCO Member States has been in operation since 2012. The Meeting maintains a Permanent Working Group on Scientific and Technical Cooperation among the many SCO member states.
According to the Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Governments of the SCO Member States (Bishkek, 13 September 2013), the Meeting focuses on cooperation within the following key areas: environmental safety and sustainable utilisation of pure sources; life sciences; agricultural sciences; nanosystems and supplies; data and telecommunications applied sciences; power and power effectivity; earth sciences, together with seismology and geology; and different areas agreed upon by the member states.
Between 2012 and 2025, 9 Meetings had been held.
On 12 June 2025, the ninth Meeting happened in Chengdu, chaired by the People’s Republic of China. The assembly concluded with the signing of the ultimate protocol and the approval of the Roadmap for Implementing the SCO Member States’ Cooperation Programme on the Development of Artificial Intelligence.
The Kyrgyz Republic has assumed the chairmanship of the Meeting of Heads of Ministries and Departments of Science and Technology of the SCO Member States for 2025-2026.