Information Agency “Jahon” - On May 22, 2010 Tashkent hosted a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member-States.

It was attended by the Secretary of State - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan K. B. Saudabayev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Yang Jiechi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic - SCO National Coordinator of the Kyrgyz Republic T.K. Makeev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Kh. Zarifi and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan V. Norov.

The meeting was also attended by the SCO Secretary-General M.S.Imanaliev and Director of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (RATS) SCO D.M.Djumanbekov.

The heads of delegations were received by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov.

The meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of SCO Member-States was chaired by the Uzbek side.

In preparation for the meeting of the Council of Heads of the SCO Member-States due in Tashkent on June 10-11, 2010, the parties considered a number of priorities in terms of further expanding cooperation in the framework of the Organization.

The sides had an exchange of views on important regional and global issues, the main trends of the world situation development, as well as on strengthening stability and security in Central Asia, further strengthening the status of the SCO as an influential international structure, expanding its contacts with other multilateral organizations.

The heads of delegations expressed their solidarity with the people of Kyrgyzstan in the current difficult situation. The security and stability in the SCO space is inseparably linked with security and stability in each of the Member-States, including in the Kyrgyz Republic. The SCO Member-States, while standing committed to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kyrgyz Republic, are ready to render it necessary support and assistance.
The heads of delegations stated that for over the period since the meeting of the Council of Heads of the SCO Member-States on June 15-16, 2009 in Yekaterinburg, it was carried out a significant work to further strengthen the Organization, expand in its framework the practical interaction in political, economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as extend external contacts. The activity of the SCO truly contributes to addressing social and economic problems, ensuring security and stability in the region.

The ministers emphasized that strengthening of stability in Central Asia remains to be the first and foremost task of the SCO Member-States in the sphere of security. They confirmed the intention to expand cooperation in such spheres as jointly counteracting terrorism, separatism and extremism, illicit drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.

The participants of the meeting expressed serious concern over the complex situation in Afghanistan, from the territory of which it continues to emanate the threat of terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. It was stressed that it was impossible to secure stability in Central Asia without resolving problems related to Afghanistan.

The Member-States reaffirm the leading role of the UN in coordinating efforts of the international community in addressing the situation in Afghanistan. They believe that the Afghan problem cannot be resolved exceptionally by military means and advocate promotion of the negotiating process under UN auspices with participation of the Afghans themselves in the interests of building Afghanistan as a peaceful and stable state.

It was noted that further deepening of regional economic cooperation and creation of favorable conditions for trade and investments, consolidation of practical interaction in the spheres of trade, finance, energy, transport, communications, agriculture, science and technology would promote ensuring stability and security in the region.

The approval by ministers of the draft Regulations on admission of new members to the Organization served as confirmation of openness of the Organization to other states in the region that undertake to observe the goals and principles of the SCO Charter and provisions of other international treaties and instruments adopted in the framework of SCO. Approval of this document during the meeting of the Council of Heads of the SCO Member-States in Tashkent will trigger the process of forming a mechanism to expand the Organization.

The heads of delegations welcomed the signing of the Joint Declaration on cooperation between the Secretariats of the SCO and the United Nations (April 5, 2010, Tashkent) initiated by the Republic of Uzbekistan, which set the basic principles and directions of cooperation between the two Organizations as they have been defined in the Resolution A/64/183 of the UN General Assembly of December 18, 2009.

The SCO permanent bodies are recommended to intensify cooperation with the UN, ASEAN and other international organizations and institutions on ensuring security and stability, economic, social and humanitarian development.

The ministers believed that the Procedure rules of the Organization, which will be approved at the forthcoming SCO Summit in Tashkent, would contribute to further dynamic development and strengthening of the Organization, improvement of legal framework of the SCO permanent bodies and the effectiveness of decisionmaking.

The parties reaffirmed the need to fuller realize the cooperation potential in various areas in the framework of the Organization with the SCO observer- states and dialogue partners.

The SCO Secretary-General M.S.Imanaliev presented Report on the work of the Organization’s Secretariat for over the past year, which was approved by the heads of delegations.

The meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO member-states passed in the traditional spirit of friendship and mutual understanding.

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