The second summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO) concluded in St. Petersburg Friday with fruitful results,
presidents of the six member countries said.
The one-day meeting closed in the afternoon after presidents of
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
signed three documents to chart the goals of the organization's
development and to institutionalize their cooperation.
The three documents are the Charter of the SCO, an agreement on
anti-terrorism agency in the region, and the declaration of
presidents of the SCO members.
"The summit has reaped expected results," Chinese President Jiang
Zemin said at a joint press conference following the summit. "I can
summarize that the summit was an important meeting with regards to
its timing, contents and significance."
Governments of member countries have, through the summit meeting,
got a clearer idea of where the organization is moving towards. The
Charter has laid a firm legal basis for the building of the
organization.
The signing of the agreement on anti-terrorism agency shows that
member countries will take more firm actions to crack down on
terrorism, separatism and extremism, Jiang said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the signing of the agreement
on anti-terrorism agency is a contribution by the SCO to the world
efforts in the fight against terrorism.
SCO members cooperating on the basis of equality will be a
stabilizing factor to Asia, Putin said, adding that the summit
meeting was particularly important to the further cooperation among
members.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said the summit has further
raised the level of cooperation among member countries. He said
Kazakhstan will work with other member governments to ensure that
the SCO will be truly helpful to the security and happiness of
people in the region.
Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev said that the SCO has withstood the
test over the past year. He said the summit meeting, which decided
to establish cooperation mechanisms, will heighten cooperation
among member countries. He hoped that more cooperation will begin
in areas of economy, trade and culture.
Emomali Rakhmonov, president of Tajikistan, said at the press
conference that the signing of the SCO Charter is a historic event
that will lay solid foundation for further cooperation among member
countries. He said the different kinds of cooperation mechanisms
decided at the summit meeting will enable member countries to
better cope with challenges in today's world.
Islam Karimov, president of Uzbekistan, said the documents signed
Friday have not only set the goal of development for the SCO, but
will also highlight the international status of the SCO.
(Xinhua News
Agency June 8, 2002)