On 17 May 2022, Uzbekistan chaired the first Meeting of the Heads of Ministries and Departments of the SCO Member States Responsible for Plant Quarantine held in Tashkent.
The meeting was convened on the initiative of Uzbekistan and became a new specialised mechanism of interaction in ensuring intra-SCO phyto-sanitary security. The participants approved the meeting's regulations and a draft agreement between authorised agencies of SCO member states on plant quarantine cooperation.
The agreement aims to create favourable conditions for consistently expanding agricultural produce trade, facilitating food security and implementing phyto-sanitary control measures. The document is to be signed at the upcoming Meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council in Samarkand.
