The capital of Tajikistan received the heads of member and observer states, including the presidents of 6 SCO member states – the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the host country, the Republic of Tajikistan.

They were joined by heads and high-level representatives of observer states of the Organization and other respectable guests, including the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, President of Mongolia, President of Turkmenistan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of India and counsellor of Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Political and Security Issues.

The Summit took place in the newly built “Kokhi Navruz”, the biggest teahouse in the world, which has turned into a wonder of architectural arts and national decoration of Tajik people.

The SCO Summit addressed issues related to regional and international security, the coordination of anti-terrorist activities, strengthening of cooperation with observer states, order of admission of new members to the Organization and other important issues. During the Summit, India and Pakistan submitted official applications requesting their full membership.

One of the major outcomes of the Summit was the signing of an agreement on the creation of favourable conditions for international automobile transportation. The agreement aims to facilitate cross border road transport of goods and people between and among SCO member states through the simplification and harmonisation of transport procedures and requirements. It also seeks to improve the road infrastructure connecting SCO countries with Europe and Asia Pacific. The Asian Development Bank and UN Social and Economic Commission for Asia and Pacific actively supported the preparation and execution of the agreement.
At the end of the Summit, Russia took over the SCO presidency from Tajikistan and will host the next summit in Ufa City in July 2015.

SCO in brief:
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation created on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by 6 states (listed above). The main goals of the SCO are strengthening mutual confidence and good-neighbourly relations among the member countries; promoting effective cooperation in politics, trade, economy and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region. The SCO member states occupy a territory of around 30 million 189 thousand square kilometres, which makes up three fifths of the Eurasian continent, and have a population of 1.5 billion, which makes up a quarter of the planet’s population.