MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. India’s city of Varanasi is to be declared as the tourist capital of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2022-2023, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told the media on Tuesday, while speaking about the agenda of the organization's upcoming summit in Samarkand.

"A decision will be made to declare the organization's tourist and cultural capital in 2022-2023. This status will be granted to the Indian city of Varanasi," Ushakov said.

Varanasi, a city on the Ganges river in northern India, has a central place in pilgrimage and mourning in the Hindu world. A religious city located in the north east of Varanasi - Sarnath - is respected and worshipped by every Buddhist. It is one of the four most important pilgrimages in the world.