BEIJING, April 20. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov met on Thursday with Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming to discuss prospects for building mutually beneficial international ties, the Russian embassy said.

"The sides exchanged view on current issues of the SCO’s activities, including in the context of improving its work," it wrote on its Telegram channel. "Special attention was focus on prospects for building the SCO’s mutually beneficial international ties."

The sides "expressed their commitment to maintaining close contacts on all aspects of cooperation within the organization," it said.

Set up in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization now includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia enjoy the observer stats. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners.