DUSHANBE, 24.05.2018. /NIAT “Khovar”/. The 30th meeting of the Commission of Senior Officials in Charge of Trade and Economic Cooperation convened in Beijing on 22-23 May 2018, SCO Secretariat reports.

The agenda of the meeting, which was chaired by Tajikistan, focused on preparing discussion topics for the upcoming meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council, which will take place on 9-10 June in Qingdao, China.

The trade and economic officials mapped out plans for preparing a regular meeting of the Council of External Trade and Economy Ministers of the SCO Member States, as well as a meeting of the SCO Heads of Government Council (prime ministers), both of which are to be held in Tajikistan in the autumn of 2018.

The officials held in-depth discussions on the Action Plan on Implementation of the Programme of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation among the SCO Member States, ways to bolster the member states’ economic activities, as well as the implementation of the related policy and planning documents.

They also discussed the strengthening and expansion of the legal framework for the SCO member states’ trade and economic cooperation, as well as improving the mechanisms of their interaction.

The meeting participants analysed the work of the special working groups responsible for the individual industries of the SCO’s economic track and possible ways to stimulate cooperation at the level of small and medium-sized companies.

The Commission of Senior Officials in Charge of Trade and Economic Cooperation was set up under the Council of External Trade and Economy Ministers of the SCO Member States to oversee the implementation of the Programme of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation of the SCO Member States.

The Commission also coordinates special working groups on developing transit potential, assisting investment, e-trade, modern information and telecommunication technology, simplifying trade, and customs cooperation.