DUSHANBE, May 13, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi has departed for Almaty, Kazakhstan today to attend a regular meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that will be held there on May 14, according to the Tajik MFA information department.

Attendees will exchange views on boosting practical cooperation among SCO member countries and major regional and international issues, and make preparation work for the upcoming SCO summit in June, the source said.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

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.