The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has made great
achievements during the process of self development since its
establishment five years ago, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev
said in a recent interview with Chinese media.
The SCO has always been an open organization oriented toward
comprehensive international cooperation, said Nazarbayev, who is
due to attend an SCO summit on June 15 in Shanghai.
The SCO, as a powerful and promising organization, had
established its status among the international community in recent
years, the president said.
"The SCO is neither a military bloc nor an exclusive alliance
targeting third party," he said.
On the organization's achievements, Nazarbayev said SCO members
had formed a broad security zone in their border areas, which was
important to the peaceful development and prosperity in the region,
as well as its own development.
Past SCO summits and routine meetings had laid a solid legal
foundation for realizing the goal of the organization, he said.
The president added that as two standing institutes of the SCO,
the secretariat and the executive committee of its regional
anti-terror body had already been set up and played an important
role in realizing its set goals.
Currently, he said, the SCO was facing two strategic tasks --
safeguarding security in the region, and developing cooperation in
economy, trade and investment.
"I believe, for the SCO, its principal task is still the fight
against terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug-trafficking and
illegal immigration," Nazarbayev said.
"In the meantime, we should pay attention to the development of
trade and economic cooperation," he added, noting that SCO member
countries had approved a compendium on multilateral cooperation,
including more than 100 projects in the fields of economy, science
and technology.
Nazarbayev said SCO members should broaden their cooperation in
such fields as education, culture, tourism and sports within the
framework of the organization.
When asked about measures taken by Kazakhstan to boost the SCO's
development, he said his country attached great importance to the
organization, and saw their cooperation as one of the priorities of
Kazakhstan's foreign policy.
The proposal for the establishment of the SCO was made by China,
one of the largest countries in the world and a permanent member of
the UN Security Council, Nazarbayev said.
On economic cooperation, he said, Kazakhstan was making efforts
to launch bilateral and multilateral projects in the fields of
trade and economy, investment, energy, transportation and
culture.
"Our country is willing to actively participate in the SCO's
economic projects, including investments for those projects based
on mutual benefit," said the president.
As for the SCO's prospects and the upcoming summit, he said the
organization, as a new system of regional cooperation, would become
part of the global security system and the concept of realizing a
multi-polar world.
Nazarbayev said that considering the member countries'
increasing potential in trade and economic cooperation, the SCO was
most likely to become a global center of economic development.
"I hope the upcoming summit in Shanghai will inject new momentum
into the efforts made by countries in the region to strengthen
their coordination in jointly fighting against terrorism,
separatism and extremism," he said.
The summit will review the developments of the SCO since it was
established five years ago, analyze international and regional
situations, study the organization's future development, and
outline cooperation plans, Nazarbayev said.
SCO role in fighting 'three evil forces'
?
Nazarbayev lauded the role of the SCO in fighting terrorism,
separatism and extremism, noting that the regional body should make
efforts to become an inalienable part of the global anti-terrorism
mechanism.
He said SCO members, including Kazakhstan and China, had
attached great importance to maintaining security, peace and
stability on the Europe-Asia continent.
The fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism,
separatism and extremism, which are posing a grave threat to the
peoples of SCO countries, has been a main direction of the SCO
since its inauguration in 2001, said Nazarbayev.
To this end, Nazarbayev said the SCO members signed the Astana
Declaration at the SCO summit last year in Astana of Kazakhstan, in
which the SCO clarified its stance on the most urgent international
and regional security issues.
The summit also adopted the Concept of Cooperation of the SCO
Members in Fighting Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, he
added.
The SCO members are cracking down on terrorism activities on
their territories, including those targeting other countries'
national interests, the president said.
The six countries of the SCO have staged anti-terrorism
exercises within the framework of the SCO and conducted
consultations and exchanged information regularly, Nazarbayev said.
The SCO consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The regional anti-terrorism agency of the SCO, established in
2004 to coordinate SCO members' anti-terrorist efforts, are
currently working on legal documents for SCO members in fighting
terrorism, separatism and extremism, said Nazarbayev.
He also said the SCO members were sparing no efforts to improve
the situation in volatile Afghanistan.
A liaison group was established in November 2005 between the SCO
and Afghanistan to tackle issues of common concern, he said, adding
that the SCO will actively take part in the establishing of an
"anti-drug zone" around Afghanistan and in its economic
re-construction.
The SCO should make efforts to integrate itself into more
international affairs, becoming an inalienable part of the global
anti-terrorism mechanism, the president added.
Relations, cooperation with China
Kazakhstan-China relations and the two countries' cooperation
within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
are in a very good shape, said Nazarbayev.
He said relations with China had made great headway, including
the signing of a good-neighborly treaty of friendship and
cooperation in 2002, the thorough settlement of border issues, and
the advancements in economic and cultural cooperation.
The bilateral trade volume last year reached US$6 billion, he
added, expressing the hope of raising the trade volume to US$10
billion.
The president also highlighted the two countries' cooperation
within the framework of SCO, saying their active cooperation covers
all the priorities of the bilateral ties.
"Economic cooperation is becoming the driving force of an
all-around development of Kazakh-Chinese relations," said
Nazarbayev.
The 1,000-km Atasu-Alataw Pass oil pipeline has started to carry
oil to China and the two sides are discussing a cross-border
natural gas pipeline, the president said, adding that they are also
studying the feasibility of setting up oil and gas joint ventures
in Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile, the president introduced achievements in his country,
mentioning the country's 9-10 percent economic growth rate and the
more than US$40 billion of foreign investments.
Founded in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO also comprises Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with Mongolia, Iran, Pakistan and
India as observers.
The heads of state of the six SCO member countries will attend
the summit meeting, along with observers and representatives from
countries and international organizations that have established
cooperative relations with the SCO.
(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2006)
