Kyrgyzstan Monday said President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has agreed with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov to step up bilateral cooperation on the war against terrorism, said reports from Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

The two leaders made the agreement during the latest summit of the Central Asian Cooperation Organization at the Russian city of St. Petersburg, said Kyrgyzstan's presidential press bureau.

They believe that international terrorism and religious extremism have posed serious threats to security and stability in the central Asian region, it said.

Kyrgyzstan has always been resolute in its war against terrorism and it supports closer bilateral exchanges to boost the clout against such activities among member countries of multilateral groups, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), it added.

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will take further steps to stabilize their borders and efforts will also be made to deepen their economic cooperation, it said.

The Central Asian Cooperation Organization groups together Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2005)