The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Tuesday inked a protocol of mutual understanding to step up efforts to counter extremism.

Photo taken on June 13, 2011 shows a scene in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. The annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will open in Astana on Wednesday. [Sadat/Xinhua]

Present at the signing ceremony were CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha and Director of the SCO's Executive Committee of the Regional Antiterrorist Structure Dzhenisbek Dzhumanbekov.

"The protocol offers an opportunity to coordinate our efforts in countering extremism more effectively. Cooperating on a regular basis and securing the normative foundation of this task will allow us to improve the effectiveness of our efforts in general," Bordyuzha said at the ceremony.

In recent years, almost all SCO and the CSTO members have suffered from terrorist attacks, he said.

He also vowed to enhance the effectiveness of special services in law enforcement agencies among members of the two blocs.