The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin participated in a regular meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations that took place in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, on July 29.
Xinhua says the foreign ministers who participated in the meeting fully affirmed the important role played by the SCO in consolidating the strategic mutual trust among member states, promoting regional development and prosperity, and deepening people-to-people bonds. They reportedly believed that solidarity and coordination should be further strengthened, and multilateralism should be activated, so as to adapt to the rapidly changing international situation.
They agreed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, improve the level of regional connectivity, and believed that the SCO will play a greater role in promoting the stability of international production and supply chains.
They also pledged to make good use of the rich cultural resources of countries in the region and strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation. They reportedly discussed the establishment of the SCO Development Bank and agreed to advance the SCO membership expansion process in an orderly manner.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, SCO foreign ministers reviewed the preparations for the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member states (Samarkand, September 15-16, 2022), as well as the draft agenda and the list of documents proposed for signature at the upcoming summit.
The ministers exchanged views on topical regional and international issues, on the course of the negotiation process on the applications of the states for obtaining the SCO status, adopted as a basis the draft of the Samarkand Declaration of the Heads of the SCO member states, as well as other documents submitted for consideration by the Heads of States.
Speaking at the meeting, Tajik foreign minister reportedly noted the importance of political cooperation within the framework of the SCO, advocated for further expanding coordination of foreign policy positions in the format of the "eight".
Sirojiddin Muhriddin also emphasized the importance of supporting initiatives aimed at strengthening the social and economic agenda of the SCO, as well as linking national development strategies for sustainable growth and development of the region.
In this context, Muhriddin “recalled the proposal voiced by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon during the Dushanbe summit to develop and adopt the Strategy for the Economic Development of the SCO Region until 2030.”
The Tajik MFA information department says the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting resulted in signing of 16 decisions.
