Central Asian leaders yesterday arrived in Beijing to attend a
meeting of members of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization.
The visitors include Tajikistan's Prime Minister Akil Akilov,
Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, Kyrgyz Prime Minister
Nikolai Tanayev and Uzbek Prime Minister Utkur Sultanov.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov will arrive early this
morning for the talks, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
Premier Wen Jiabao and the five prime ministers will meet at the
Beijing Hotel this morning. They will discuss improvements to the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization and regional economic
cooperation, according to Li Hui, director of the Foreign
Ministry's Europe and Central Asia division. The Russian and
Central Asian leaders will then meet with President Hu Jintao this
afternoon.
The third summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held
in Moscow in May, was a turning point, marking the end of its
establishment phase. Member countries are now focusing on a new,
pragmatic development phase for the organization, Li said.
Li said there would be two items on the agenda: the
institutionalization of the group's structure, and a discussion on
regional economic cooperation.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded on June 15,
2001. The prime ministers of its member countries first met for
talks in Kazakhstan's Alma-Ata in September 2001.
After today's meeting, Russian Prime Minister Kasyanov will
continue his visit to China, staying until Thursday. Wen and
Kasyanov will hold the eighth meeting between prime ministers of
the two countries.
The two will evaluate Sino-Russian relations and plan further
joint projects, including co-operation on energy resources,
according to Foreign Ministry sources.
The regular meetings between the heads of the Chinese and
Russian governments were set up at the end of 1996.
(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2003)