DUSHANBE, June 16, Asia-Plus – Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) concluded their annual summit on Tuesday with calls for constructive dialogues and enhanced cooperation to tackle regional and international issues.
The leaders exchanged views in depth on a wide range of regional and international issues, said a joint communiqué released after the summit.
The summit was attended by heads of state of SCO member countries — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and leaders of SCO observer nations — Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran.
Also present at the meeting were Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, a guest country of the SCO, and representatives of the United Nations and some other regional and international organizations.
This was the first time that leaders from observer states were included in a restricted meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council.
The SCO leaders called for the establishment of a more just and rational system of inter-governmental relations, and set the priorities for future cooperation, the document said.
In a declaration adopted following the summit, the leaders said that regional cooperation is playing an increasingly important role in solving international issues.
Constructive dialogues and enhanced cooperation are effective ways to seek solutions to regional and international issues, such as security threats, the global financial crisis, food security and climate change, it said.
The leaders also called for enhanced supervision on financial institutions and more international cooperation, so as to prevent the further spread of the financial crisis, the declaration said.
The member countries will strengthen cooperation within the framework of the SCO, and make concerted efforts with the rest of the international community to build a more fair and rational international financial system, the document said.
Besides the declaration, the leaders also signed several other documents, including a convention against terrorism and agreements on training anti-terrorist forces of SCO members and cooperation on international information security.
