Prithviraj Chavan to attend SCO meet at Dushanbe

New Delhi, Sep 12 (UNI) Mr Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, will represent India at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government (Prime Minister level) Meeting scheduled to take place in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) on September 15.

Tajik Premier Akil Akilov had invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend the meeting. Dr Singh could not personally attend the meeting due to his ongoing visit to Brazil and Cuba.

The Dushanbe meeting is expected to focus on the promotion of economic cooperation within the SCO framework.

India obtained Observer status in the SCO at the July 2005 Summit of Heads of States which was held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

India has expressed its interest in full involvement in SCO activities that promote economic, energy, cultural cooperation and those directed against terrorism and drug trafficking.

Mr Chavan will address the plenary session at the Heads of Government meeting. It is also expected that there will be discussions with SCO leaders on the sidelines of the September 15 meeting in Dushanbe.

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