DUSHANBE, November 26, 2013, Asia-Plus -- The newly appointed Prime Minister Qohir Rasoulzoda will represent Tajikistan at a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The 12th session of the SCO Council of Heads of Government that will take place from November 28-29 is expected to discuss the Report of the SCO Secretariat on the progress of implementation of the Program for trade and economic cooperation between the SCO member nations and the Agreement between the governments of the SCO member nations on providing favorable conditions for international trucking.

The Council of Heads of Government is the second-highest council in the SCO after the Council of Heads of State, which is the top decision-making body in the organization.  The Council of Heads of Government also holds annual summits, at which time members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation.  The council also approves the organization''s budget.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO is an intergovernmental mutual-security organization which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.  Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.