Rashid Alimov of Tajikistan becomes new SCO Secretary General

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Representative of Tajikistan Rashid Alimov became the new Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russia's RIA Novosti reports.

"Rashid Alimov from Tajikistan will serve as the SCO Secretary General starting from January 2016. The corresponding decision was made at the recent meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Dushanbe," the Tajik Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Alimov served as Tajikistan's ambassador to China in 2005-2015 and permanent representative of the country at the SCO Secretariat. He will replace former Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev of Russia.
The SCO has six full members - Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are five observer states. India and Pakistan are expected to get full membership this year.