Cultural cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will enhance friendship among peoples of its member countries, the SCO Secretary-General Bolat Nurgaliev said on Thursday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Nurgaliev said cultural cooperation is an important element of multilateral cooperation within the SCO, which groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Cultural ministers of the SCO member nations had so far held five meetings to promote cultural exchanges, according to Nurgaliev.

The SCO member countries would enhance cultural exchanges and cooperation in the future, Nurgaliev said.

To achieve the aim, a three-year plan on inter-governmental cultural cooperation was approved during the cultural ministers' latest meeting in June this year.

A gala performance, dubbed the "Evening of SCO", is to be staged on Friday and Saturday at the National Center for the Performing Arts where artists from the six member countries will join together.

The gala evening is one of the major events of the Beijing Olympic culture program, "Meet in Beijing 2008".

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2008)