Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) state-members held a meeting Saturday in Moscow, in which they constructively and seriously exchanged their views on the actions of SCO and exigent international issues.

According to a joint communiqui released after the meeting, the ministers have reached principle agreements over the issues of the establishment of a Secretariat in Beijing and a regional anti-terrorist center in Bishkek. They have also worked out common approaches to the organization's budget.

The ministers signed interim procedures for cooperation of the SCO members with international organizations and sovereign countries.

The ministers stressed the necessity to unite efforts of all the countries in the world in the fight against international terrorism, separatism, extremism, organized crime, illegal drug and weapon trafficking, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery, depravation of environment, exhaustion of nature resources, massive illegal migration, poverty, backwardness and AIDS, the communiqui said.

They urged the United Nations to promptly adopt the comprehensive convention for the eradication of international terrorism and the convention for prevention of nuclear terrorism.

They also called for intensifying the leading role of UN in combating terrorism.

The ministers stated common understanding of the fact that strengthening stability in the Central Asia region is the task of priority importance set forth to SCO. They reaffirmed their willingness to maintain cooperation with all international organizations active in the region.

The ministers expressed concern over the revival of separatist tendencies in Asia and the strengthening link between terrorism and separatism.

They highly praised the international cooperation in eradicating terrorism in Afghanistan, but in the meantime, they also pointed out that drug production is on the rise there, the communiqui said, adding that the so-called "security belts" along the Afghan borders should be set up.

The ministers supported collective and individual efforts to restore peace and stability in the Middle East, and urged the conflicting sides to unconditionally comply with the pertinent UN Security Council resolutions.

They expressed hope that the resolution and resumption of international inspections in Iraq will pave the way for a peaceful settlement in keeping with all international norms.

They advocated a nuclear-free status for the Korean Peninsula and dispute settlement via peaceful dialogue. Peace and stability on the peninsula would be beneficial for all, the communiqui said.

The ministers stand for the establishment of working contacts between SCO and ASEAN with the aim of broadening mutual exchange of information and cooperation.

Nuclear-free zones should be set up in Asia with consideration of the interests and concerns of all countries, the communiqui said.

SCO is ready in accordance with the tenet and principles of UN Charter and on the base of equality to develop substantial cooperation with all interested states and international organizations, the communiqui noted.

SCO Gains Significant Fruits

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan on Saturday said the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have gained significant fruits in pushing forward the construction of the organization as well as cooperation among its member nations.

Tang and his five counterparts from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan gathered here Saturday for discussions of the SCO's construction and a series of international and regional issues.

Stressing mechanism construction as a current focus for SCO, Tang said the preparation work for creating a secretariat had entered the key stage under the joint efforts of coordinators and experts from the six countries. China would like to complete the drafting of relevant documents before next year's SCO summit and try to officially open the secretariat after the summit, he said.

Tang said the SCO still faces a very stern anti-terrorism fight, citing last month's hostage crisis in Moscow.

The fact that the terrorist attack was masterminded by national separatists and regional extremists again demonstrated the necessity and correctness of the unremitting efforts in cracking down on the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, he stressed.

The minister urged all SCO members to deepen and expand security cooperation by adopting deals on jointly fighting against the "three forces" and terrorist organizations and by creating a regional anti-terrorist organization in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek as soon as possible.

Tang said China appreciated and supported some Central Asian countries' proposal on enhancing anti-drug cooperation, signing multilateral anti-drug cooperation pact and listing the work as one of the top tasks of regional anti-terrorist organization.

He said economic cooperation is a key area for cooperation between the SCO members. To gain substantial benefits from economic and trade cooperation, all member states should strengthen political common sense over the issue, regard it as a strategic problem that could largely affect regional security and the SCO's development, he said.

Noting a changing and complex world situation, Tang said the common and pressing task of all SCO members is to cope with threats from untraditional security spheres, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, weapons smuggle, transnational monetary crimes.

He said, peace and development still dominate the current age as the general situation of the world is stable and the economy is developing forward in waves.

The international community was watching closely at the organization, as more and more countries and international organizations were willing to conduct dialogues and cooperation with the organization, Tang said.

The SCO should further enhance the exchange and cooperation with other parties through wider eyeshot and a more positive post, which could not only strengthen its international influence but also reflect its principles of "no alignment," "not against a third party" and "opening-up," he said.

Saturday's meeting will pass a temporary pact on SCO's foreign policies, which would officially start the organizations' exchange activities with others, and thus promote the "Shanghai Spirit" of "mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, cooperation, respect multi culture and seek common development," he said.

(People's Daily November 25, 2002)