The heads of the six-member states of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) signed a landmark pact on Thursday that boosts
the development of the SCO.
The Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and
Cooperation was signed at the SCO summit held in Bishkek, the
Kyrgyz capital. The treaty is also an important accomplishment as
it furthers, in legal form, SCO members' desire for eternal peace
and friendship through the generations.
Doubtless, the treaty facilitates unity and mutual trust among
SCO member states. Unity is a prerequisite to deepening cooperation
among members and mutual trust guarantees success of the
cooperation. In this sense, the treaty will power the SCO members'
cooperation in the areas of security, economics and culture.
The SCO has been faring well over the past six years since it
was founded in 2001. It is attracting more attention from countries
around the world. So what is the reason for its rapid development
and success?
It is the SCO's implementation of "the Shanghai Spirit，" which
involves the principles of mutual trust, benefits, equality,
consultation, respecting each other's cultures and seeking common
development.
The treaty puts "the Shanghai Spirit" on a legal footing which
helps maintain stability and harmony in the Central Asian region,
and contributes to peace in Asia and the world at large.
The SCO was founded in the post-cold war era when the world at
large and Central Asia were undergoing profound and dramatic
changes. Its founding was prompted by an urgent need to cope with
the threat posed by terrorism, separatism and extremism in areas
wedged between Asia and Europe.
The member states rely on their collective strength in
safeguarding regional security in an effort to create a good
climate for their own economic progress. The SCO members have since
built a model for international relations marked by the principles
of "non-alignment, non-confrontation, not targeting third parties
and sticking to opening up to the outside world".
In the security arena, the SCO has a host of cooperative
documents on fighting terrorism, separatism, extremism and drug
trafficking. The organization has also staged a number of
counter-terrorism exercises. The just-concluded joint military
exercise in Russia's Cheliyabinsk, like its predecessors, will
serve to hold terrorist, separatist and extremist elements in
check.
Besides, the SCO has a strong appeal because it advocates a new
type of security outlook based on the principles of non-alignment,
non-confrontation and not targeting third parties.
The SCO has accepted Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India as
observer countries and has established liaison with the United
Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the
Commonwealth of Independent States. The SCO has become a regional
one, with big influence and appeal.
The SCO member states are doing their best to promote regional
economic development and achieve common prosperity. The economic
pursuit provides the driving force for the sustainable development
of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The SCO members have charted the basic goals of regional
economic cooperation, set in motion a trade-and-investment
facilitating process, and signed a multilateral economic
cooperation program which involves 130 projects of cooperation in
the fields of transportation, energy, information technology and
agriculture. A number of working groups have also been set up for
the implementation of these projects.
Collaboration between business people and the banking industry
is also on track. Economic cooperation as a whole is picking up
speed.
The territories of SCO members are vast and are complementary to
each other in natural resources, labor, and market structures. The
complementary nature of the economies is the very foundation on
which mutually benefiting cooperation is conducted.
However, it should be noted that customs, judicial systems,
economic strengths and levels of development vary significantly
from one SCO member to another. This seemingly presents a problem
for multilateral economic cooperation.
The SCO members have full confidence in overcoming this problem.
The cooperative documents signed at the Bishkek summit involving
cooperation in the fields of transportation and others are
testament to the SCO members' commitment to deepening economic and
trade cooperation.
The accomplishments achieved at the Bishkek summit will inject
new vitality into cooperation among the SCO members.
The author is a researcher with China Institute of International
Studies
(China Daily August 20, 2007)
