Moscow hosted SCO Contact Group meeting

Almaty. October 13. Silkroadnews - Moscow hosted meeting of the SCO Contact Group that have resumed work in an extended format after a seven-year break, the Afghan Telegraph Agency (AfTAG) reports.
The meeting was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers. Besides representatives of the SCO member states and Afghanistan the meeting participants included delegates from Iran and Turkmenistan interested in solving the Afghan issue, Russian media inform.
Participants of the meeting shared views on situation in Afghanistan and the region, discussed the possibilities of resolving current challenges, as well as the issues of further cooperation between the SCO and Afghanistan.
Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai represented Afghanistan and said about his country’s interest in obtaining full membership in the SCO. At the moment, Afghanistan has an observer status.
Speaking on the region’s current situation Hekmat Karzai noted, the terrorist threat poses a danger for all the states throughout the region, thus, he expressed the hope that the SCO member states will join Afghanistan in fighting against terrorism.
At the same time, the Deputy Minister emphasized the importance of efforts on reconciliation process boosting, urging the SCO states to contribute to get various groups of the armed opposition involved in the dialogue.
The next meeting of the Contact Group will be held in China in early 2018.