On 23-24 May a regular session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization took place in Tashkent under the presidency of Uzbekistan.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Idrisov, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Erlan Abdyldayev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Aslov, and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov.

SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure Yevgeny Sysoyev also took part in the meeting.

According to the Tajik MFA Information Department, during his speech at that meeting Aslov outlined the country’s position on key aspects of cooperation within the SCO, as well as important regional and international issues.

As part of the preparations for the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State due to be held in Tashkent on June 23-24, 2016, the ministers discussed the current state and prospects for promoting cooperation in different areas of the organization’s activities and for enhancing its role and stance in international and regional affairs. It was stressed that the SCO, based on the “spirit of Shanghai,” embodying mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for the diversity of cultures and joint development aspirations, has asserted itself as an influential member of the modern system of international relations over 15 years since its inception.

The participants exchanged views on the implementation of the resolutions adopted at the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State, which was held in Ufa on 9-10 July, 2015. In this regard the importance of approving a Plan of Action to implement the SCO Development Strategy towards 2025, to be submitted to the SCO Council of Heads of State for approval, was pointed out.

The ministers decided to submit for consideration to the Council of Heads of State the signing of memoranda on the commitments of the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for their obtaining the status of SCO member-states.

The ministers welcomed the signing of memoranda to grant SCO dialogue partner status to the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Cambodia and Nepal.

The ministers noted the need for a broader involvement of the SCO observer states and the SCO dialogue partners in practical cooperation within the organization.

The ministers confirmed that in accordance with the Charter and other SCO documents, developing and implementing measures for the joint fight against all forms of terrorism, separatism and extremism, illegal drug production and trafficking, trans-border organised crime, crimes with the use of modern information technology, illegal migration and human trafficking, illegal trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives, and proliferation of mass destruction weapons and their delivery vehicles would remain a priority in cooperation within the organisation.

The ministers exchanged views on urgent regional and international problems, main trends of their development, issues of strengthening security and stability in the region.

The heads of delegations also adopted decisions on a number of issues, related to the activities of the organization and forthcoming meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member-states in Tashkent.