A ROUND TABLE AT THE SCO CENTER FOR FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION IN TAJIKISTAN

The SCO Center for Friendship and Cooperation in Tajikistan hosted a round table on the topic “Prospects of activities and cooperation of the SCO Center for Friendship and Cooperation in Tajikistan”.

The round table was attended by the Deputy Secretary General of the SCO, partners of the Center, including the SCO Chinese Committee of Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation, the SCO Public Diplomacy Center in Uzbekistan, the SCO Youth Platform SCOLAR Network, representatives of the SCO member embassies and field experts .

First, the round table was opened by the Director of the SCO Center for Friendship and Cooperation in Tajikistan, Doctor in Law, Professor Abdukhalil Gafurzoda, who noted that in accordance with the SCO regulations in 2021 the chairmanship of the organization was passed from the Russian Federation to Tajikistan, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the SCO. Tajikistan is one of the founding countries of the organization and makes a significant contribution to its development. In agreement with the Leader of the Nation Emomali Rahmon, at the Academy of Public Administration was established the SCO Center for Friendship and Cooperation in Tajikistan as the coordinating body of the SCO activities. This center is a new organization and today it is in the process of formation and development.

It was noted that for effective operation and achieve the objectives, the Center is developing a five-year development and activity perspective. According to it, the Center plans events to develop public diplomacy, education, science and culture, and promote the activities of the SCO and the Center.

The event discussed issues related to the activities of the Center, cooperation of the Center with its partners, expanding the circle of partners, developing bilateral and multilateral projects of a bloody nature. During the round table there was signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Center for Friendship and Cooperation in Tajikistan and the SCO Public Diplomacy Center in Uzbekistan, which will serve as a solid basis for further cooperation between the parties.

It was emphasized that this authoritative organization was created in 1997 consisting of the Republic of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation under the name “Shanghai Five”. It should be remind that the contribution of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in the establishment of the “Shanghai Five” and then the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is very significant.

Currently, the SCO includes 8 member states, four observer states (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Belarus, Mongolia) and 6 partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kingdom of Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Nepal, Socialist Democratic Republic Sri Lanka).

The total area of the SCO member states is about 34.3 million square kilometers, and the population is over 3.6 billion people, which is 43.8 percent of the world’s population.

In the final part of the round table, a number of proposals were made to strengthen cooperation, conduct joint events and projects.