"The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has grown rapidly in the past few years and has become an important link in the contemporary international relations," Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said in a recent interview with Chinese media.

The SCO, comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, was established on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai.

In the past seven years, it has gradually become an efficient mechanism for maintaining its member states' common benefits and promoting their mutually-beneficial cooperation.

It has also grown into a major force in facilitating the realization of lasting peace, common advancement and has made crucial contributions to the establishment of a more just and rational international order.

'Shanghai spirit' lays foundation for new relations among countries

The SCO's predecessor, the Shanghai Five Mechanism, originated and grew from the endeavor by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan and Tajikistan to strengthen confidence building and disarmament in their border regions.

The Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions and the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions signed during the period of the "Shanghai Five Mechanism" have paved the way for terminating the Cold War in the region and launching regional friendly cooperation.

Last year, heads of state of the SCO inked the Treaty on Long-term Good-neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation at a summit in Bishkek, putting the notion of "friendship from generation to generation and lasting peace" in a legal framework.

The Shanghai Spirit, which embodies mutual trust and benefits, equality, respect for cultural diversity and a desire for common development, has since been well recognized.

Kazakh Vice Foreign Minister Nurlan Baiuzakovich Yermekbayev said the new model of relations among countries established by the SCO determines the future outlook of the region.

"The SCO has been recognized as our shared home," he added.