Baku, Azerbaijan, April 24
Trend:
Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov is participating in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that is being held in Beijing on April 23-24, Tajik news agency “Asia-Plus” reported on April 24.
The SCO foreign ministers are reportedly discussing issues related to peace and security at the international and regional level and promotion of cooperation between the Organization member nations.
Before the session, Sirojiddin Aslov took part in a session of Chinese President Xi Jinping with foreign ministers of the SCO member nations, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
During the meeting, President Xi Jinping said the SCO has become an influential regional organization, and that the group continues to work on improving cooperation in various areas, including politics, economic issues, security, the humanities, and external exchanges.
The Chinese leader, in particular, noted that the Chinese side considers promotion of development of the SCO as one of priorities of its foreign policy.
The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has eight full members -- China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are four observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.