DUSHANBE, May 15, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, who is currently in Moscow to attend foreign ministers'' meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that has opened there today, is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with some of his SCO counterparts, according to the MFA information department.

The SCO foreign ministers have gathered in Moscow to prepare for the SCO summit, which is to be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in mid June, and exchange views on deepening pragmatic cooperation in all fields among the members and on important regional and international issues.  The meeting is supposed to result in adoption of joint statement.

During his stay in Moscow, Tajik minister will  meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.  They are expected to sign a program of cooperation between the foreign ministries of Tajikistan and the Russian Federation for 2009.

Besides, Zarifi is also supposed to hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Moscow.

The SCO foreign ministers will be received by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today, the MFA information department said.

Zarifi will return to Dushanbe on May 16.

Founded in Shanghai in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization comprises six member countries: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan