On 5 July 2021, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Zhang Haizhou took part in a conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the SCO on exchanging experience and regional trade and economic cooperation between the Republic of Tajikistan and the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone.
The conference was sponsored by the Administrative Committee of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone with the support from the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development of the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan to China. More than a hundred guests from China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries, plus the SCO Secretariat attended.
Liu Jianjun, Director of the Administrative Committee (Management Board) of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone, noted that this event would further expand the capabilities for bilateral and multilateral investment and trade, international supply chains, park construction, tourism and cultural exchanges, as well as facilitate the interactive connection between industrial capacities and resources in the SCO region.
SCO Deputy Secretary-General Zhang Haizhou underscored that the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone was an important project for multilateral cooperation within the SCO and a major step towards deepening cooperation between the SCO countries across a variety of fields. The SCO Secretariat stands ready to assist the SCO countries in putting forward more initiatives and cooperation projects of that kind in order to create a pragmatic and effective SCO cooperation platform.
Zhang Haizhou also underscored that the SCO member states strive to generalise 20 years of experience of the SCO development and pursue comprehensive plans to expand key areas of cooperation.
In his speech, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to the People's Republic of China Saidzoda Zohir Ozod told participants that, in late 2020, Tajikistan took the baton of SCO Chairmanship from the Russian Federation and, in conjunction with the SCO member states, is in charge of organising more than 150 events. In less than eight months, more than 70 cultural, trade and economic events were held in Tajikistan and other SCO member states.
In turn, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan Abdurakhmonzoda greeted the participants, noting that Tajikistan stands ready to continue to jointly implement large-scale cooperation projects in the economy, trade, transport and supply chains in the SCO region as part of the joint efforts to build the Belt and Road project.
A memorandum of cooperation between the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone and two free economic zones in Tajikistan was signed during the event, and a presentation of Tajikistan's investment environment was held as well.