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The President of Uzbekistan told President Medvedev about the preparations for the  Background information Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) SCO Council of Heads of State meeting.

The Russian leader expressed his confidence that the Tashkent SCO summit will be interesting, intensive and productive.

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President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov: Mr President, I am truly happy to see you, and I would like to thank you for agreeing to this somewhat accelerated programme. Still, I can see that you look great and, obviously, you do not need rest or extra time to prepare.

I would like to welcome you and express my appreciation for your personal participation in this SCO meeting. When the President of Russia personally and directly participates in the meeting, it is a very good sign that the meeting will be successful.

I would like to tell you right away that the preliminary preparation for the SCO meeting has been very complicated. Nevertheless, this highly labour-intensive process was quite successful. It was preceded by meetings of various SCO structures: the latest of these was the meeting of foreign ministers, and before that, — the Security Council secretaries’ meeting (in which your colleagues participated).

And today, I would like to tell you that nearly all the documents that we had planned to prepare and sign are ready and approved. The approval process was not easy, but nevertheless, we are letting you and all the heads of state know that all of the documents have basically been approved. Still, this doesn’t mean that no changes will be made when we discuss these issues in restricted or expanded format. I am glad that this time-consuming process is finally completed.

I would like to welcome you and tell you that here in Tashkent, we have been eagerly awaiting your visit. It would be great if you can stay until Saturday, so that in addition to the SCO meeting, we can discuss and look into other issues. Furthermore, I would like to give you a tour of summertime Tashkent. You noted straight away that today is a fairly hot day, but we are not yet at the height of the summer heat. I would say that today’s weather is quite comfortable.

Thank you for following the schedule. I am happy to see you, and I am happy to see your colleagues. Thanks again.

President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President, I am also very happy to see you. We met fairly recently in Moscow and had full-fledged talks. After that, we shared views on a variety of issues. We called each other, and we discussed preparations for the SCO meeting, which, as you accurately noted, were not easy, but it is very good that they have rounded into fully prepared documents. This is due in large part to Uzbekistan’s chairmanship. It is true that, for a large number of reasons, we needed additional coordination, and we have done that. And naturally, it is a pleasure for us (for me personally and for the Russian delegation) to visit Tashkent during these wonderful summer days.

I would say that it’s hot here but rather warm, which actually corresponds well to the atmosphere that has been created by you and your colleagues. I count on being able to discuss the full range of SCO-related topics; and today and tomorrow, we will exchange views on other matters. We always have issues to discuss.

By the way, we have recently stepped up contacts on a large variety of issues. Just a little while ago, I received a letter of credence from your new ambassador. And this, too, is good, because a regular exchange of opinions between colleagues is imperative. My colleagues in the Cabinet and the Presidential Executive Office have travelled here to participate in the process of preparing this meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. I think that everything went well, despite the fact that there were indeed certain issues requiring discussion.

And so, we are very happy to be your guests. Thank you very much for the invitation. I am certain that these days will be interesting and eventful.

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