Sartaj Aziz, SCO Secretary General discuss formalities on Pakistan’s membership

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, June 23: Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Secretary General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization met here on Thursday and discussed formalities ahead of the Pakistan’s membership of the Organization.
The SCO’s 16th Council of the Heads of State is granting full membership to Pakistan on June 24.
Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan was desirous of positively contributing to the SCO’s activities in the fields of security, counter-terrorism, economy, banking and customs.
He drew the attention of the SCO Secretary General of including English as official and working language of the Organization along with the already in place Chinese and Russian languages, to which he agreed to accelerate the pace of work on the matter soon after Pakistan becomes full membership.
The SCO Secretary General apprised the Advisor that on becoming full member, Pakistan would be given representation at the Organization’s Secretariat in Beijing and at the Regional Anti-terrorism Secretariat in Tashkent.
He lauded Pakistan’s role during its Observer status and its regular participation in the SCO summits.