The Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held a round table on the theme “Presidential elections of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the context of modern development of the country”.

The event was attended by SCO Secretary-General R. K. Alimov, permanent representatives of the member states of the SCO, senior officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Commerce of China, socio-political, expert-analytical and business circles and mass media of China. An opening remark was made by Secretary General of the Organization, who stressed the importance of elections in Uzbekistan for the SCO. He said that Uzbekistan is a country which makes a significant contribution to the development of multilateral cooperation, regional security, and strengthening of the SCO positions in the world arena.

The roundtable participants were acquainted with the preparations for the upcoming 4 December 2016 election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, legal and institutional guarantees for the free expression of will of voters, transparency of elections and their conformity with universally recognized democratic standards, the order of participation in the election observation of foreign observers, local and foreign media.

Chinese roundtable participants stressed the importance of the upcoming elections to maintain regional stability in Central Asia.

The participants marked the huge work conducted by the Central Election Commission, Parliament and political parties of Uzbekistan to guarantee fair, democratic and transparent elections. The participation of international and foreign observers in the elections of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan will ensure openness and transparency of the entire electoral process.

General Secretary R. Alimov briefed about the work planned by Secretariat of the Organization as part of its Mission as an international observer.

The speakers highly assessed the results of SCO Summit held in June in Tashkent, within the frameworks of which the Uzbek side declared commitment to further develop and strengthen comprehensive cooperation in the SCO framework. They exchanged opinions on further development of the Organization, promoting practical cooperation and strengthening of good-neighbourliness and friendship relations, as well as and cooperation between the member states of the SCO.