Uzbekistan to host SCO-Afghanistan meeting

MOSCOW (TASS): Uzbekistan, which chairs the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), plans to hold more than 80 international events in 2022, develop a program for the development of intraregional trade and strengthen cooperation between countries in the security sphere.
As priorities, Uzbekistan outlined the intensification of economic cooperation and strengthening the organization’s potential in the field of security. Tashkent intends to expand the SCO agenda through new directions, such as the creation of mechanisms for the development of digital technologies and innovations. Strengthening dialogue in the health sector remains relevant in the context of the ongoing pandemic.
The country’s authorities have developed a special roadmap and concept for their chairmanship. “There is no doubt that all events within the framework of Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in the SCO will be held at the highest level,” noted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the republic Abdulaziz Kamilov. The next meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO will be held on September 15-16 in Uzbekistan, which, according to Kamilov, opens up an opportunity to realize the potential of the organization in a new way, to strengthen its role and significance.
In September 2021, at a summit in Dushanbe, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev outlined the priorities and tasks of the chairmanship. These include strengthening the capacity and authority of the organization, intensifying efforts to ensure peace and stability in the region, reducing poverty and ensuring food security. Uzbekistan called for the development of a plan for the development of intraregional trade, which will include measures to eliminate trade barriers, approximate technical regulations and digitalize customs procedures. Mirziyoyev proposed to establish an expert forum on information security and introduce the institution of the SCO Goodwill Ambassador. Among the priorities are also the adoption of a program of industrial cooperation, the preparation of an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism and a program for infrastructure development in the SCO space.
In connection with the tension in Afghanistan, Mirziyoyev noted the need for a unified approach to the situation in this country, and also suggested holding regular high-level meetings in the SCO-Afghanistan format, expressing his readiness to organize the first of them in Tashkent. According to the national coordinator of Uzbekistan for SCO affairs Rakhmatulla Nurimbetov, the republic has already begun preparations for this meeting, it is expected to be held this year.
On September 17, 2021, following a meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council, the chairmanship of the organization passed from Tajikistan to Uzbekistan.
As Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko noted, Russia hopes that Uzbekistan, as the chairing country, will successfully cope with the challenges facing the organization. Earlier, Uzbekistan chaired the SCO three times – in 2004, 2010 and 2016.