TASHKENT, January 5. /Dunyo IA/. On January 1, Batir Tursunov, a representative of Uzbekistan, assumed the position of Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

He is 50 years old and graduated the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies (now Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies) and the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan named after I.Muminov.

Batir Tursunov has been serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2005, holding various roles in the central office and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Beijing. His previous positions include Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan and Deputy Director of the International Institute for Central Asia.

In 2023–2024, Batir Tursunov served as Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in China and as the Permanent Representative to the SCO Secretariat in Beijing.

He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is the author of more than 25 scholarly publications. Batir Tursunov is fluent in Russian, English, and Chinese.