Member states pledge to make SCO greater player on world stage

Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a six-member inter-governmental group, concluded a half-day meeting in Shanghai Monday, highlighting resolve on making the SCO a stronger player in the international arena.

"We agreed that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has become a competent and mature international organization after years of development," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after the discussion.

Lavrov said the organization is "most familiar" with regional problems as it has geographic, economic and historic advantages. "It has the corresponding foundation and capacity to independently and effectively handle regional issues."

Established on June 15, 2001, the SCO includes six member states including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The organization covers a population of one quarter of the world's total.

To mark its fifth anniversary, the organization plans to hold a summit for the member states in Shanghai in mid-June.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Kemelevich Tokayev told reporters that 15 important documents were expected to be signed at the upcoming summit covering guideline documents and those on anti-terrorism and economic and trade cooperation.

"These documents will instil new vitality in the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," he said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said he and his counterparts had enjoyed constructive discussions in preparation for the June summit.

"The upcoming summit will have a significant impact on the growth of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We agree to improve exchanges and cooperation to make sure that the upcoming summit will be a complete success," He said.

A press release from China's Foreign Ministry said that the six foreign ministers, including Li, Kasymzhomart Kemelevich Tokayev from Kazakhstan, Alikbek Jekshenkulov from Kyrgyzstan, Sergei Lavrov from Russia, Talbak Nazarov from Tajikistan and Elyar Ganiev from Uzbekistan, signed a series of resolutions after discussions. (to be continued)

Source: Xinhua