Tajikistan’s Prime Minister Qohir Rasoulzoda has left for Tashkent for participation in the 18th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

An official source within the Tajik government says a two-day meeting that kicked off today will discuss a wide range of issues related to trade and economic as well as humanitarian cooperation between the SCO member nations.

The session participants are expected to focus on collaboration in the field of transport, energy, agriculture, cutting-edge technology and digitalization.

While in Tashkent, Rasoulzoda is also planned to hold a number of bilateral meetings, the source said.

Meanwhile, Russian media reports say the SCO prime ministers’ session will end with issuing a joint communique and a new version of the program for multilateral trade and economic cooperation.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has eight full members -- China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.  Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are four observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.  ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.