DUSHANBE, July 6, 2015, Asia-Plus – A regular meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of National Coordinators is being held in Ufa, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan today.

According to the Tajik MFA information department, a Tajik delegation participating in the meeting is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Parviz Davlatzod, who is National Coordinator of Tajikistan on SCO Affairs.

The meeting participants are reportedly discussing issues and documents that will be tabled to the agenda of the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State that will take place in Ufa from July 9-10.

The Council of National Coordinators coordinates the multilateral cooperation of member states within the framework of the SCO''s Charter.

Founded by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on June 15, 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization.  Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.

The Organization currently has six full members -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are five observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Belarus, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

The Organization’s six full members account for 60% of the land mass of Eurasia and its population is a quarter of the world''s population.  With observer states included, its affiliates account for about half of the world''s population.