The Sixth Summit Meeting of the "Shanghai Five" scheduled for June 14-15 in Shanghai will exert profound influence on the peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large, according to ambassadors of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
In recent interviews with Xinhua, the ambassadors expressed their optimism about the prospects for the "Shanghai Five” mechanism which groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, President Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan, and President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan are scheduled to attend the summit meeting as guests of Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Russian Ambassador Igor A. Rogachev said that the "Shanghai Five" have scored many achievements in developing multilateral relations, adding that the summit meetings have not only focused on cooperation in border areas, but also covered exchanges and cooperation in various sectors.
He is confident that the upcoming summit will further promote multilateral cooperation in various areas.
Kazakhstan Ambassador Kuanysh Sultanov noted that the "Shanghai Five" have progressed to comprehensive cooperation from the original border issues, which clearly demonstrates the role of the mechanism in guaranteeing regional stability and security.
He said that the world is far from a stable place at present, and regional conflicts are on the rise for various reasons, stressing that the summit is all-vital in the current world situation.
The summit will be of great significance for maintaining regional and world peace and stability and for promoting the prosperity of mankind, said Tajikistan Ambassador Karimov Jamshed. The "Shanghai Five" countries account for one-quarter of the world’s population and are rich in mineral resources, said Karimov, stressing that the Shanghai Five are capable of solving the world's political and economic problems.
He specified that the "Shanghai Five", a new mechanism of multilateral cooperation, will play an important role in combating terrorism, religious extremism, and separatism, as well as in building a just and fair international political and economic order.
Karimov went on to say that he believes the "Shanghai Five” will become an example for a new type of state-to-state relations, and will vigorously push forward democratization in international relations, and boost cultural international exchanges.
Kyrgyzstan Ambassador Erlan Abdyldaev said that the "Shanghai spirit," characterized by good-neighborliness, mutual trust, equality, mutual benefit, solidarity, cooperation, and common development, is cultivating a positive atmosphere for the countries involved to join hands to solve security and economic problems.
Abdyldaev said that he believes the "Shanghai Five" will play an ever-increasing role in the new century, because the mechanism includes not only three Central Asian countries, but also China and Russia, two permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Uzbekistan's willingness to join the "Shanghai Five" shows that the authority and influence of the mechanism is on the rise, Abdyldaev said.
(xinhua 06/08/2001)
