Iran’s president meets SCO secretary general

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has met with Dmitry Fyodorovich Mezentsev, the secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

During the meeting held in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, on Thursday, the two sides discussed regional and international issues.

The Iranian president is also planned to have a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai as well as Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to discuss ways for improving relations among the three Farsi speaking countries.

The visiting Iranian president also plans to sit down with his Uzbek opposite number Islam Karimov as well as Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj later in the day.

According to Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov on Wednesday, Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are to sit down for talks on key bilateral and international issues on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Dushanbe on Friday.

President Rouhani traveled to Tajikistan for a three-day visit on Wednesday to participate at the summit of the SCO.

The SCO is an intergovernmental organization that was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Iran, along with four other countries, holds observer status in the organization.