Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Thursday left Kabul for Uzbek capital Tashkent to attend the 16th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit there, a statement of the Presidential Palace released in Kabul said.

During his two-day stay there, the Afghan president at the sideline of the summit is also scheduled to meet his Uzbekistan counterpart Islam Karimov and other heads of state to exchange views on matters pertaining mutual interests and regional situation, the statement added.

Afghanistan received observer status at the SCO in 2012.