DUSHANBE, June 23, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajik President Emomali Rahmon today morning left for the Uzbek capital of Tashkent to attend the 16th session of the Council of Head of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The Tajik president’s official website says Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov, Presidential Adviser on Foreign Policy Azamsho Sharifi, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, and Minister of Energy and Water Resources Usmonali Usmonzoda are accompanying the president on his working visit to Uzbekistan.
The SCO heads of state will discuss issues related to further expansion of cooperation in the framework of the Organization and exchange views on international and regional issues being of mutual interest.
The main document of the summit is the Tashkent declaration for the 15th anniversary.
The summit participants will also discuss the first five-year program (2016-202) for implementation of the SCO strategy designed for the period until 20205 and some other documents related to expansion of the SCO
The Tashkent summit is expected to adopt more than ten joint documents.
According to Russian media outlets, the SCO summit will also discuss the current situation in Afghanistan. Quoting Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Russian media outlets reported that an estimated 60,000 “armed extremists” were fighting in Afghanistan, including 10,000 under the flag of the Islamic State group.
Iran”s accession to the grouping will be discussed, Ushakov said, adding that “Russia believes there is no reason to refrain from accepting this country to the organization.”
India and Pakistan are expected to become SCO members at the summit next year, he added.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has six full members — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are six observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.
The Organization’s six full members account for 60% of the land mass of Eurasia and its population is a quarter of the world”s population. With observer states included, its affiliates account for about half of the world”s population.
