TASHKENT, 24 June (BelTA) – The visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to Uzbekistan is over. The aircraft with the head of state on board departed from the airport of Tashkent, BelTA informs.
In the capital of Uzbekistan the president took part in the summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). It was the first top-level SCO meeting for Belarus in an observer status.
In his speech at the summit the Belarusian leader reaffirmed Belarus' eagerness to take part in the work of the organization in all areas of mutual interest. “I am convinced that the SCO is a crucial negotiations platform for working out the mechanisms of response to modern challenges and threats,” he noted.
According to Alexander Lukashenko, economic cooperation should be the central theme of interaction in the SCO. The head of state emphasized that it is essential to promote cooperation between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union.
“As an observer country in the SCO, we are not going, let me use the sport parlance, to watch the game from the substitutes' bench. Belarus is ready to become an active ‘field player' within the framework of the organization and make a considerable contribution to its work for the benefit of our people,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.
In Tashkent the Belarusian leader also met with the president of China and the prime minister of India. The sides discussed the development of trade and economic, scientific and technical cooperation, the implementation of promising joint projects.
