Jan 28, 2022 – Tashkent: Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited to speak at the apex level event with heads of ministries and agencies of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Poverty Alleviation. Jamshid Kuchkarov, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, Republic of Uzbekistan hosted the event in Tashkent. Speaking at the event, Dr. Sania highlighted, “Prime Minister Imran Khan during his speech at the meeting of Head of States of SCO which was held in June 2019 in Bishkek articulated his eight-point agenda. This included a proposal to narrow the research-policy gap through the establishment of leading knowledge center for poverty reduction within the SCO framework.” Further, she reiterated, “There is an urgent need to establish a permanent mechanism for regular exchange of experiences and information on the applied innovative measures aimed at poverty alleviation.” The apex event also discussed regional approaches to poverty alleviation in the SCO member states.