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Lavrov praises Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in SCO

Under Uzbekistan’s chairmanship, SCO’s Council of Foreign Ministers prepared a massive package of documents, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

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SCO foreign ministers back strengthening cyber security — ministry

TASHKENT, May 24. /TASS/. Uzbekistan does an excellent job chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO member states.

"Under Uzbekistan’s chairmanship, SCO’s Council of Foreign Ministers prepared a massive package of documents," Lavrov said.

"It is always expensive and troublesome, but our Uzbek colleagues are dealing with this successfully," the foreign minister noted.

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The Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO member countries meets today in Tashkent. In 2016, Uzbekistan chairs the organization, and the SCO summit will be held in Tashkent on June 23-24.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a permanent regional international association, the establishment of which was announced on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai. The organization brings together Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

During the SCO summit in Ufa on July 9 and July 10 the start of the admission procedure for India and Pakistan was announced. The leaders of the SCO member-countries also decided to grant Belarus observer status, while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal became dialogue partners.

SCO priority spheres include joint fight against terrorism and extremism, cooperation in the spheres of education, energy, transport, and telecommunications. The total population of SCO countries is almost 1.6 billion people, and the total GDP of the member countries is $11.6 trillion.

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Foreign policy SCO

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