President Rouhani to attend SCO, CICA summits in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

President Hassan Rouhani is to set off on a visit to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan this week to attend important summits and hold talks with senior officials of the two countries.

According to Press TV, Iranian President's Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Information, Parviz Esmaeili, said on Monday heading a high-ranking political delegation, Rouhani will leave Tehran for Bishkek on Thursday.

He added that the Iranian president is scheduled to deliver a speech at the 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Kyrgyz capital.

The visit comes at the invitation of Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, Esmaeili said.

Rouhani would also meet with senior officials attending the SCO summit, he added.

Addressing the 18th summit SCO in the Chinese port city of Qingdao in June 2018, Rouhani slammed US attempts to impose its own policies on others, saying Washington's "unilateral sanctions" damage international business.

The Iranian president warned of threats posed by economic, political and legal unilateralism to regional convergence.

The SCO was formed in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to curb extremism in the region and enhance border security.

Iran is currently an observer member of the SCO, though it has long sought full membership.

The intergovernmental organization seeks to strengthen mutual trust and good neighborly ties between the member countries, contribute to regional stability and facilitate cooperation in different sectors, including political, trade, economic and energy issues.

Esmaeili went on to say that the Iranian president is to depart for Dushanbe to participate in the Fifth Summit of Heads of State of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

He added that Rouhani would hold talks with a number of authorities attending in the CICA summit.

CICA is a multinational forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. It is a forum based on the recognition that there is a close link between peace, security and stability in Asia and in the rest of the world.

ME