On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Uzbekistan counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed preparations for the September summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Kremlin press service reported following the telephone conversation between the two leaders.
"The parties discussed preparations for the upcoming September summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Samarkand. In this context, they noted the high international authority of the SCO and the growing contribution of the organization to strengthening regional stability and security," reads the report.
The presidents of the two countries also discussed the further development of Russia-Uzbekistan strategic partnership and alliance, the Kremlin noted.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization founded in 2001 includes India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are observers; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka are partner countries. The SCO summit in Samarkand, scheduled for mid-September, is expected to finalize Iran's admission and grant dialogue partner status to Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The application of Belarus to join the SCO as a full-fledged member is also being studied.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS