Monday, 15 June 2009
The upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is expected to work out a plan in realizing the common goals that can ensure peace, security and stable development of the regional bloc and its members, the SCO secretary-general said.
On the eve of the ninth SCO summit scheduled for June 15-16 in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg, Bolat Nurgaliyev told Xinhua that leaders from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan would discuss regional and global issues as well as development of the organization and guarantee of stable and smooth domestic development of its members.
Against the backdrop of the ongoing global financial turmoil, the SCO members should first of all jointly carry out specific projects, Nurgaliyev said.
The Program on Measures of Implementing the Outline on Multilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation among the SCO Members passed in September 2004, has listed several cooperation projects in spheres such as transportation, energy, trade and agriculture, he said.
All of these projects have provided chances for SCO members and observers to ward off the financial crisis together.
The SCO, established in 2001, has Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran as its observers.
"Hand in hand, we are able to reduce the negative impact of the crisis to the minimum within our economic zone," said Nurgaliyev.
Talking about energy cooperation, Nurgaliyev said there are major energy producers, consumers as well as suppliers within the SCO framework. Therefore members are talking about the creation of a "energy club," which aims at safeguarding interests of those countries.
"I believe the 'energy club' promises a great future," he said.
The SCO secretary-general also emphasized the principles of peace, cooperation, openness and non-confrontation to which the organization has been consistently adhering.
He said under the guidance of Shanghai Spirit which embodies mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for multi-civilizations and pursuit of common development, the SCO has no intentions of vying for regional clout over other alliances.
"This is precisely why the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been widely acknowledged in the world despite its short history," he said.
The stringent task facing the SCO now is to combat against the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as cross-border crime such as drug trafficking, said Nurgaliyev.
Besides, the SCO has paid more and more attention to the economic and cultural cooperation among its members during these years, he added.
