Russia: SCO leaders pose for family photo ahead of restricted meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin along with the other SCO leaders from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan posed for a joint photo at the SCO summit in Ufa, Friday, before leaving the press and continuing their meeting behind closed doors. The SCO heads are expected to adopt the SCO Development Strategy towards 2025 and the Ufa Declaration at the summit. There are also plans to sign an intergovernmental agreement on border cooperation. The 15th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) takes place on July 9 and 10 in Ufa and partially coincides with a meeting of the BRICS leaders. Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have been discussing further cooperation between the countries of the bloc, namely within the context of the newly-formed New Development Bank (NDB).