DUSHANBE, June 28, 2008, Asia-Plus — The Russian State Duma lower house of parliament ratified a protocol adding changes to the agreement between the state members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the Regional Antiterrorist Organization (RATO) at a June 27 plenary sitting.
The presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed the document in last year’s August.
The protocol facilitates the procedures of appointment and dismissal of RATO deputy directors.
This allows SCO members states to rapidly solve the matters of appointing their deputy directors of the RATO.
At present, this procedure is in competence of the SCO Council of Heads of State.
The protocol also envisages the adoption of the Chinese as the second working language of RATO apart from the Russian language.
Russian Federal Security Service Deputy Director Yuri Gorbunov said the document “will be temporarily used from the date of signing it”.
He stressed that the ratification of the protocol “meets the national interests of Russia”.
