DUSHANBE, 13.09.2021 (NIAT Khovar) – On September 17, Dushanbe will host a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the SCO. This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan.

The Dushanbe summit will be attended by the heads of SCO member states, including the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi (online), President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping (online), President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Japarov, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Imran Khan, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Heads of SCO observer states include the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ibrahim Raisi, President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh (online), President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as a guest of honor, as well as SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov and the Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Jumakhon Giyosov. The meeting will also be attended by the UN Secretary General António Guterres (online) and heads of regional organizations such as the CIS, CSTO, CICA, ECO and EAEU.

The main results of SCO’s activities over the past 20 years, the current state, and prospects of multilateral cooperation within the organization will be discussed during the summit. The heads of state will exchange views on regional and international cooperation and consider the joint steps within the SCO to overcome the consequences of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the results of the SCO summit in Dushanbe, the heads of SCO member states are expected to make decisions on commencing the procedure for admitting the Islamic Republic of Iran as a full member state of the SCO and granting the status of a dialogue partner to the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Qatar, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The heads of member states will also decide on a new SCO Secretary General and Director of the Executive Committee of SCO RATS. At the end of the meeting, for the first time in the history of the SCO, the organization’s anthem will be played, which was agreed upon at the initiative of President Rahmon.

The Dushanbe Declaration on the 20th anniversary of the SCO and about 30 decisions are expected to be adopted as a result of the historic SCO summit.