SCO has growing role in the East - Russia defence minister

KHUDZHAND (Tajikistan), April 1 (Itar-Tass) - The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) turns in one of most important structures and has a growing role in international relations, visiting Russian Defence Minister General Sergey Shoigu said at a bilateral meeting with Tajik counterpart Sherali Mirzo in this Tajik city on Tuesday. “The SCO is becoming weightier and is turning in one of most important structures, to our mind, not only in Central Asia, but also in the East,” Shoigu said. In his words, there are many questions in the SCO that require debates and attention for 15 next years and according to some estimates for 20 years. The Russian defence minister noted that this concerned military and military-technical co-operation. “I believe that our today’s meetings on bilateral basis and within the SCO will result in further positive steps in development of bilateral relations and within such major and serious organisations as the SCO,” Shoigu noted. For his part, the Tajik defence minister thanked the Russian counterpart who “despite his busy and intensive working schedule accepted invitation to participate in a meeting of the defence ministers of the SCO states.” “Our bilateral relations are highly valuable for us, so, we attach major importance to meetings in this format,” Mirzo noted. Learn more on itar-tass.com