Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 22
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
The ceremony of signing a memorandum on granting the official status of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) dialogue partner to Nepal was held in the SCO secretariat in Beijing March 22, a statement published on the Uzbek foreign ministry's website said.
"SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov and Secretary of the Nepalese Foreign Ministry Shankar Das Bairagi signed the document," the statement said.
A decision to grant SCO dialogue partner status to Nepal was made by the SCO Council of Heads of State in Ufa. The memorandum stipulates interaction between the SCO and Nepal in the promotion of regional security and stability, the fight against terrorism, extremism, separatism and drug trafficking, as well as in trade, investments, energy issues and other fields.
Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, as well as ambassadors and permanent representatives of the SCO member-states also attended the ceremony.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established in 2001. It is a permanent intergovernmental international organization. The SCO members are China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus are the SCO observer-countries, while Turkey, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal are dialogue partners.