On May 16, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov met with the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Zhang Ming.

The parties discussed the state and prospects of multifaceted cooperation between Uzbekistan and the SCO.

Issues related to the preparation and holding of events under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the SCO were considered. The parties noted the successful holding of more than 40 events of the Organization under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan, discussed organizational issues and the agenda of high-level meetings scheduled for May-September this year.

It was emphasized that, at the initiative of Uzbekistan, new areas of cooperation within the SCO were launched, which contribute to enriching the agenda, taking into account modern realities. Thus, for the first time, ministerial meetings of the SCO member states on information and communication technologies, poverty reduction were held. On May 17, Tashkent will host the first meeting of the heads of agencies responsible for plant quarantine.

The SCO Secretary-General highly appreciated the preparations for the main event – the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, which will be held on September 15-16 this year in Samarkand. The parties noted the need for continuing active efforts to speed up the process of agreeing on the documents planned for signing as part of the upcoming event.

Views were exchanged on the further development of the SCO activities, increasing its authority in the international arena.

Certain issues on the international and regional agenda, including the current situation in Afghanistan, were also considered.