Heads of 14 countries will attend the SCO summit in Uzbekistan on September 15-16 in Samarkand. The event will be the first face-to-face meeting of SCO leaders after a long break caused by the pandemic, Abdusalom Khatamov, consul general of Uzbekistan in Yekaterinburg, said at a press conference at the TASS Ural Information Center on Tuesday.
"The Samarkand summit will be the first face-to-face meeting of SCO leaders after a long break caused by the pandemic. Heads of 14 countries are expected to attend the summit. This includes eight member countries, observers as well as guests," Khatamov said.
Samarkand's infrastructure was modernised for the summit, he said. In particular, a new airport terminal has been built and the city is ready to receive guests. The officials will be able not only to hold meetings, but also to experience the atmosphere of ancient Samarkand and attend master classes of craftsmen. "40 craftsmen in the traditions of all regions of Uzbekistan will present their products," Khatamov said.
Geopolitical issues will not be discussed at the summit, he said. The program includes an economic agenda, topics related to good-neighborliness between the countries and the trans-Afghan transport corridor, a railway route that will allow members of the organization to take their products to Pakistani ports.
The SCO is an international organization founded in 2001, whose members include China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Observer countries are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia; partner countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka. It is expected that the upcoming summit will complete the procedure of admission to the organization as a full member of Iran and accept the application of Belarus to join the SCO as a full member.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: sco-russia2020.ru/Creative Commons 4.0
Based on materials from TASS