Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo on Tuesday made a three-point proposal in Moscow aimed at improving cooperation among the parliaments of the six member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

 

Wu made the proposal at a meeting hosted by Sergei Mironov, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council (the upper house of parliament), and Boris Gryzlov, the chairman of the State Duma (the lower house).

 

First, he said, the parliaments should cooperate to ensure the ratification of agreements at an early date and supervise their implementation, thus providing legal guarantees for exchange and cooperation of the six-member regional bloc.

 

The parliaments should also learn from other mature cooperation mechanisms and reinforce the coordination with other cooperation mechanisms, so as to push forward the development of the SCO, the Chinese top legislator said.

 

Secondly, Wu said, the parliaments should promote cooperation on the issues of common concern such as regional security and economic cooperation.

 

He recommended that in line with the needs and priorities of the SCO, the parliaments should make due amendments to their domestic laws and regulations timely, in a bid to create a favorable legal environment for cooperation on regional security and economy.

 

Thirdly, Wu said, the parliaments should diversify their cooperation in a flexible manner.

 

"We support holding meetings of top legislators for communication and consultation on major issues in relation with parliamentary cooperation," he said, adding that the expansion of exchanges between sub-committees, friendship groups and other offices is also encouraged.

 

He stressed that efforts should also be intensified to promote friendly exchanges between lawmakers of younger generation.

 

The Chinese top legislator also appreciated the SCO inter-parliamentary meeting mechanism proposed by Mironov.

 

"We believe this mechanism is conducive to enhancing mutual understanding, deepening political trust, and improving practical cooperation in such fields as security and economy and trade," he said.

 

He believed that the mechanism would inject new vigor into the development of the SCO.

 

Dubbed a new model for regional cooperation, the SCO was founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001 aimed to promote regional security and fight terrorism.

 

The SCO consists of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 2004 and 2005, the SCO accepted Mongolia, Iran, Indonesia and India as observers. The organization has also set up official links with many international organizations including the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

 

The heads of state from the six member countries are expected to meet in Shanghai in June to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the SCO.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2006)