The SCO Plus format meeting was held in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the 24th SCO Summit on July 4.  The theme of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization SCO Plus meeting was “Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue – Striving for Sustainable Peace and Development.”  The agenda reportedly included international and regional issues related to the SCO’s cooperation with invited countries.

The Kremlin says the leaders of SCO member states, the heads of delegations from SCO observer countries and dialogue partners, the heads of international organizations (the UN, the EEC, the Islamic Organization for Food Security, the CSTO, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, CICA, and the CIS), as well as the guests of Kazakhstan’s Presidency participated in the meeting. 

The Tajik president’s official website reports that speaking at the meeting, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon noted that the SCO has become an influential international structure playing a significant role in world politics.  It was emphasized that the Organization makes a practical contribution to maintaining stability and security in the region of its responsibility, to the development of the global economy, and to expanding the dialogue of cultures and civilizations.

Rahmon reportedly presented Tajikistan's vision on the issue of further expanding multilateral cooperation with observer states, SCO dialogue partner states and partner international organizations.

Tajik leader, emphasizing the progressive growth of Tajikistan's trade turnover with the countries of the "SCO family", proposed to begin implementing specific joint projects involving the potential of observer states and partners in the field of high technology, innovation and artificial intelligence, agriculture, as well as investment cooperation.  The need for active involvement of observer states and dialogue partners in the activities of the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium was also noted.

Rahmon reportedly called for more effective use of the potential for cooperation in the transport and energy sectors, inviting the countries of the "SCO family" to join the Agreement on the creation of favorable conditions for international road transport signed in Dushanbe in 2014.

Noting the large reserves of hydropower resources of Tajikistan, he declared his readiness for substantive cooperation with SCO partners on their joint development.

A special place in Rahmon’s speech was given to issues of multilateral cooperation in the field of countering new challenges and threats to security.  The need to continue the practice of inviting observers and dialogue partners to anti-terrorist exercises and anti-drug operations conducted under the auspices of the SCO was emphasized.

In conclusion, President Rahmon expressed confidence that the meeting in the SCO Plus format will become a useful platform for bringing multilateral cooperation of the SCO family states to a new level of development in accordance with the requirements of the time.

Initiated by the United Russia party in October 2020, the SCO Plus forum format includes inter-party interaction among SCO member countries, the Commonwealth of Independent States and BRICS, an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Speakers from 25 countries first used this format during the SCO Plus international inter-party forum “Economy for People” on October 22-23, 2020.