The second summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) concluded in St. Petersburg Friday with fruitful results, presidents of the six member countries said.
The one-day meeting closed in the afternoon after presidents of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed three documents to chart the goals of the organization's development and to institutionalize their cooperation.
The three documents are the Charter of the SCO, an agreement on anti-terrorism agency in the region, and the declaration of presidents of the SCO members.
"The summit has reaped expected results," Chinese President Jiang Zemin said at a joint press conference following the summit. "I can summarize that the summit was an important meeting with regards to its timing, contents and significance."
Governments of member countries have, through the summit meeting, got a clearer idea of where the organization is moving towards. The Charter has laid a firm legal basis for the building of the organization.
The signing of the agreement on anti-terrorism agency shows that member countries will take more firm actions to crack down on terrorism, separatism and extremism, Jiang said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the signing of the agreement on anti-terrorism agency is a contribution by the SCO to the world efforts in the fight against terrorism.
SCO members cooperating on the basis of equality will be a stabilizing factor to Asia, Putin said, adding that the summit meeting was particularly important to the further cooperation among members.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said the summit has further raised the level of cooperation among member countries. He said Kazakhstan will work with other member governments to ensure that the SCO will be truly helpful to the security and happiness of people in the region.
Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev said that the SCO has withstood the test over the past year. He said the summit meeting, which decided to establish cooperation mechanisms, will heighten cooperation among member countries. He hoped that more cooperation will begin in areas of economy, trade and culture.
Emomali Rakhmonov, president of Tajikistan, said at the press conference that the signing of the SCO Charter is a historic event that will lay solid foundation for further cooperation among member countries. He said the different kinds of cooperation mechanisms decided at the summit meeting will enable member countries to better cope with challenges in today's world.
Islam Karimov, president of Uzbekistan, said the documents signed Friday have not only set the goal of development for the SCO, but will also highlight the international status of the SCO.
(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2002)
