President Mamnoon represents Pakistan at SCO Summit in Uzbekistan

President Mamnoon Hussain has arrived in Tashkent to represent Pakistan in the summit. He is accompanied by Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and other senior officials.

Pakistan is expected to sign ‘Memorandum of Obligations’ which will pave the way for the country to be a full member of the SCO. It currently has an Observer status which it received in 2005 and had applied for full membership status in 2010.

Prior to the summit, President Manmoon Hussain met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping where he expressed his determination to realise the completion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He thanked the Chinese President for supporting Pakistan’s bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

President Mamnoon Hussain arrived in Tashkent yesterday where he was received by Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev. He visited the shrine of Imam Bukhari (RA) in Samarkand where he paid respects to Imam Bukhari (RA) and appreciated his services for Islam who compiled the most authentic book of ‘Ahadith’.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was formed in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. These countries, except for Uzbekistan had been members of the Shanghai Five which was founded in 1996. It was renamed after the inclusion of Uzbekistan.

In July 2005 representatives of the India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan attended the 5th SCO summit held in Astana, Kazakhstan for the first time, where president of host country Nursultan Nazarbayev had said “The leaders of the states sitting at this negotiation table are representatives of half of humanity.”

The SCO aims at strengthening friendly relations and cooperation among the member states and maintenance of peace, stability and security in the region.