Foreign ministers of the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held a one-day meeting in Beijing on Monday to discuss developments in South Asia, specifically the situation in Afghanistan and the war against terrorism.
According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi, foreign ministers will discuss such issues as the Afghan situation, the international anti-terrorist cooperation and the crackdown on terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as the organizational construction of SCO.
The meeting comes after Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in recent days warned his counterparts in the United States, India and Pakistan that simmering tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi could negatively influence the rehabilitation of Afghanistan.
On Monday, Tang will meet leaders from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the initial foreign ministers meeting of the fledgling Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), officials said.
"This meeting will mainly center on the situation in Afghanistan, the international counter-terrorism campaign and the attack on the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism," Sun Yuxi said.
Four of the ministers will hold a group meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin Monday afternoon, while Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will meet separately with the Chinese president, the officials said.
The ministers are also to prepare the next SCO summit scheduled for St Petersburg, Russia, in June.
The Shanghai group was formally established in June. SCO now groups China, Russian , Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The group has worked to build confidence along common borders, reduce border troops in the region and cooperate against international terrorism.
(China Daily January 7, 2002)
