Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the decision reached at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting concluded in Tashkent to launch the formal process of granting dialogue partner status to the Maldives at the summit of Heads of States in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September 2022.
The SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting took place in Tashkent on July 28-29 under the Chairmanship of Uzbekistan. The meeting was attended, in person, by the foreign ministers of the eight SCO member countries, the SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming, and the Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Executive Committee Ruslan Mirzayev.
The SCO Heads of States Meeting will be held in Samarkand from September 15-16. Moreover, in the two-day meeting, discussions will be on continued collaboration in the expansion of SCO. In addition, perspectives will be shared on international and regional topics of mutual importance.
SCO was established in 2001. The organisation comprises of China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. In addition, Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia are SCO observer nations. Its dialogue partners are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.
Uzbekistan is presiding over the SCO summit this year. Uzbekistan took up the organization's presidency from Tajikistan on September 17, 2021. India will host the SCO summit next year.