DUSHANBE, September 15, Asia-Plus – Prospects of further development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations (SCO) were in the center of President Rahmonov’s discussions with visiting heads of the SCO governments in Dushanbe today morning, presidential press service reported.
A source in presidential press service said the meeting focused on the agenda of the fifth session of the SCO prime ministers that opened after their meeting with President Rahmonov.
During the meeting Rahmonov noted that expansion of relations with member nations of the Organization is a strategic direction of Tajikistan’s foreign policy and SCO plays an important role in realization of this policy “because it has good mechanisms of regional support.”
The prime ministers of China (Wen Jiabao), Kazakhstan (Daniyal Akhmetov), Kyrgyzstan (Felix Kulov), Russia (Mikhail Fradkov), Tajikistan (Oqil Oqilov) and Uzbekistan’s vice-premier (Rustam Azimov) arrived in Dushanbe to discuss promotion of economic and humanitarian cooperation within SCO. Participants at the meeting are also discussing transit cargo shipments and simplification of customs procedures. The SCO prime ministers also plan to discuss fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as border issues. The meeting in Dushanbe is also expected to focus on cooperation within the organization in fields such as healthcare, education and the development of tourism and other industries. The 2007 SCO budget and the role of the SCO Business Council and Inter-bank Association are also on the meeting’s agenda.
The prime ministers’ session in Dushanbe is scheduled to end with the signing of a joint communiqu? and a memorandum of understanding on speeding up a draft agreement on the creation of favorable conditions for international vehicular transportation.
