Belarus Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Martynov and the SCO Secretary-General Muratbek Imanaliev signed the document.

After signing, Sergei Martynov said Belarus pays great interest to the activity of the regional organization. He said the document, which was signed today, gives Belarus status of partner on dialogue with the SCO.

“We are happy that practical interaction between our government and the SCO starts. We are happy that Belarus became the first country, which received this status,” Martynov said.

Belarus official said the memorandum includes list of directions, on which Belarus and the SCO will cooperation. It includes cooperation in economics, transport-logistics, banking-finance, combating terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking, etc.

Martynov said that the sides agreed that the cooperation between Belarus and the SCO will have concrete character.

The decision on accepting Belarus as partner on dialogue with the SCO was accepted on 16 June 2009 at the meeting of the Yekaterinburg summit of the SCO leaders.

The regulation on status of partners on dialogue with the SCO was approved by the SCO leaders in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in August 2008. The countries, which possess this status, can participate in the SCO activity on separate directions and meetings of the sessions and groups.