The Shanghai Cooperation Organization secretariat held a reception in Beijing on June 15 to mark the fourth anniversary of its establishment. Senior officials appreciated China's contribution as an initiator and host country.

Zhang Deguang, SCO's secretary-general, told reporters before the reception that China adhered to a spirit of mutual-trust, mutual-benefits, equality, coordination, respect to cultural diversity and seeking common development and positively took part in all the SCO's activities.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told the reception that the Chinese government and people will, as before, attach importance to the SCO's development. SCO is a regional organization involving China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

On the upcoming SCO summit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, Zhang said the meeting will focus on implementing previous agreements between the member countries and on reforming the United Nations, anti-terrorism and exchange with non-member countries and other international organizations.

Zhang said the SCO will strive to reach economic integration in the region. "In 20 years, SCO will try to realize the free flow of commodities, capital, technology and service."

The organization has laid out several workshops and 120 projects concerning customs cooperation, cross-border transportation, laws and regulation coherence, energy and railway- building, Zhang said.

The SCO is also discussing the forging of a special fund and banking union to offer money for those projects and a business people's committee to lure company involvement, according to Zhang.

Zhang said SCO is instituting a strategic layout for striking terrorism, separatism and extremism and specific measures for combating such forces in the member countries' territories.

He noted that recent problems emerging in some Central Asian countries do not indicate that the whole region is in turbulence and that external pressure is therefore not appropriate.

"SCO will not interfere in the member countries' internal affairs and I believe those problems can be solved," Zhang told media in a group interview before the reception.

Kazakhstan's Ambassador to China Zhanybek Karibzhanov told the reception that the SCO has been successful in structural building and its permanent bodies - the secretariat and a regional anti- terrorist structure have launched activities.

"Moreover, a multi-area and multi-level mechanism of meetings and consultations has been created; the work of respective expert groups is underway. Legal foundations are being laid for multilateral cooperation in many concrete directions."

About 150 diplomats, Chinese officials, experts and business people attended the reception.

Source: Xinhua