The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) formally launched its regional anti-terrorist body Thursday morning in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

Leaders of the six SCO member countries and representatives from international and regional organizations attended the launch ceremony.

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure was formally launched hours before a summit meeting of the SCO which will be dominated by discussion on cooperation between member states on diplomacy, security, economy, transportation and other matters.

The SCO secretariat, launched last January in Beijing, and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure are two permanent bodies of the SCO.

The launching of the anti-terrorist body indicates that the SCO has completed its structure building and has entered a stage of pragmatic cooperation among member states, diplomats said.

According to the SCO, the prime objectives and functions of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure are:

l  maintaining working contacts with main administrative bodies of SCO member states and strengthening coordination with international organizations on matters of combating the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism;

l  participating in preparing drafts of international legal documents on matters of combating the "three evil forces," taking measures to establish -- together with UN Security Council and its anti-terrorist committee, and international and regional organizations -- the mechanism of effective regulation of global challenges and threats;

l  gathering and analyzing information provided by member states on matters concerning the fight against "three evil forces," creating a data bank of anti-terrorist structure and presenting proposals for promoting cooperation within the SCO in the struggle against the "three evil forces";

l  preparing and holding research conferences to exchange experiences on combating the "three evil forces."

The SCO, set up in June 2001, consists of six member states -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2004)