CSTO leaders take part in SCO summit in Samarkand

Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus; Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic; Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation; and Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, have arrived in Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan, to participate in the SCO summit.
Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, did not arrive to the summit due to the worsening situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
RIA Novosti reports that on September 16 the President of the Republic of Belarus will address the Council of the Heads of the SCO Member States in an expanded format and speak about the priorities of the Republic of Belarus’ cooperation in the SCO format, including in view of Belarus’ earlier application to join the organization as a full member. At present, the Republic of Belarus has an observer status in the SCO.
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, will hold a number of meetings with the leaders of Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan. The importance of the talks with Xi Jinping is especially emphasized.
State leaders will hold a number of bilateral meetings and discuss issues of mutual interest. On September 16, they will take part in the extended meeting.
According to media reports, the SCO leaders will discuss global economic recovery, the stabilization of production and trade chains, climate change, food and energy security and other challenges. The summit participants will also discuss the issues of reforming the organization.
A memorandum on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been signed in Samarkand today during the summit.
As Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, pointed out in his article on the Samarkand summit, “There is no doubt that this legendary city will open another page of SCO’s success. For centuries it has been like a thread that connects countries from Europe to China, knitting together North, South, East and West.”
As you may recall, the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Consultative Assembly – Majlis of the Islamic Republic of Iran – constantly participate as guests at the plenary sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.