Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Effective from 1 January, Uzbekistan’s representative Batyr Tursunov officially assumed the position of Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), according to the Dunyo news agency.
Batyr Tursunov, aged 50, graduated from the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies (now Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies) and the I. Muminov Institute of Philosophy and Law at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan.
He began his diplomatic career in 2005 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, progressing through various positions in the central office and serving at Uzbekistan’s Embassy in Beijing.
Later, he headed the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan and served as Deputy Director of the International Institute for Central Asia.
In 2023, Tursunov was appointed Minister-Counselor at Uzbekistan’s Embassy in China and concurrently acted as the country’s permanent representative to the SCO Secretariat.
He holds a PhD in Philosophy and is the author of more than 25 scientific publications. Tursunov is fluent in Russian, English, and Chinese.