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Tajikistan urges SCO member-states to develop own e-commerce platforms, says envoy

The ambassador considers it necessary to unite "efforts of the state, business, experts, analysts, non-governmental organizations" to do that

BEIJING, January 12. /TASS/. Tajikistan has urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member-states to develop their own platforms of e-commerce and digital infrastructure, as part of Dushanbe's chairmanship in the organization.

"The role and importance of digital economy increased in the past decades as global trade is delving deeper into digital reality. <…> SCO member-states are to develop cutting-edge national information and communicative technologies, create own e-commerce platforms and extensive digital infrastructure, improve the regulatory framework," Tajikistan’s Ambassador to China Saidzoda Zohir Ozod told a briefing devoted to his country's SCO chairmanship in 2021 on Tuesday.

The ambassador considers it necessary to unite "efforts of the state, business, experts, analysts, non-governmental organizations" to do that. "For those purposes Tajikistan plans to hold a roundtable in Dushanbe this year on the issues of digital economy, e-commerce and innovations," he added.

Moreover, Tajikistan "has offered holding an SCO Economic forum in Dushanbe this year," the diplomat said, adding that "those proposals will hopefully be welcomed by SCO partners."

The SCO member-countries are Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia have the observer status. Six countries - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka - are SCO dialogue partners. In 2004, the organization was awarded an observer status at the UN General Assembly.

On November 10, 2020 a meeting of the Council of heads of SCO states was held as a videoconference, after which a Moscow declaration and a number of other documents were approved. The summit marked the end of Russia’s SCO chairmanship, which has shifted to Tajikistan this year. SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov said earlier that the jubilee SCO summit is planned to be held on September 16-17, 2021 in Dushanbe.

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