Emomali Rahmon addresses SCO summit via video link

Emomali Rahmon made the remarks in Dushanbe while attending the 20th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) via video link.

Tajik leader pointed to the necessity of jointly addressing global threats and challenges, including extremism, terrorism and drug trafficking.  

“In this context, we once again highlight the relevance of our previous proposal to establish the SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe,” said Emomali Rahmon. 

He also proposed to organize unhindered transportation of socially significant goods during the coronavirus pandemic.  

Tajikistan will formally take over as the rotating chair of the organization in 2021 and the next SCO summit will take place in Dushanbe from 16-17, 2021.  

This virtual summit witnessed the participation of the heads of all eight member states along with the heads of the four observer states.  

For the first time, the SCO Summit was held in a virtual format due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The SCO leaders discussed the strengthening and further development of cooperation within the framework of the SCO, including matters concerning the global political and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also discussed trade and economic collaboration and coordination.   

SCO leaders focused on ways to promote the SCO member states’ practical interaction in politics, security, trade and the economy, cultural and humanitarian ties, as well as political dialogue, above all in the interests of stability in the SCO space.

The Council of Heads of State is the top decision-making body in the SCO.  This council meets at the SCO summits, which are held each year in one of the member states' capital cities and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organization.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has eight full members -- China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are four observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include      Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.  ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.

The SCO is the largest regional organization in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the world’s population.  The SCO now represents around 42% of the world’s population, 22% of its land area and around 20% of GDP.