DUSHANBE, June 18, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Tajik foreign minister has told Chinese media that economy and security are the two crucial pillars of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
According to the Tajik MFA information department, Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi gave an interview to Chinese media a couple of days before the SCO summit in Yekaterinburg.
Tajik minister said whether or not the SCO”s security and stability can be maintained is largely dependent on its member states” economic sustainability.
The “three evil forces” of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and illegal drug trafficking pose grave threats to the security and stability of the SCO member states, Zarifi said.
The SCO”s regional anti-terrorism structure is playing an increasingly important role and the structure not only effectively promotes security cooperation and joint anti-terrorist operations amongst the SCO members, it also provides them with intelligence support to fight the “three evil forces,” he said.
Zarifi said the SCO also carries out joint anti-terrorism military exercises on a regular basis to help enhance the member states” capability of coordination in anti-terror efforts.
Zarifi said the SCO, which groups China, Russia, and the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, could play an even bigger role in the war against trans-border drug trafficking. Zarifi said Tajikistan suggested that the SCO set up an anti-drug center in Dushanbe to coordinate member states” efforts to crack down on illegal drug trafficking.
Tajik minister pointed to the necessity of considering the possibility of speedy discussion of anti-crisis measures with involvement of the SCO member nations and international financial institutions. According to him, the SCO bodies will discuss investment, structural, industrial, foreign-trade, scientific-technical and other components to create necessary prerequisites for economic growth under the current conditions.
Zarifi also hailed plans for the implementation of the SCO multilateral trade and economic cooperation program approved in October 2008, and a rapid development of economic cooperation within the alliance. He said that energy, transportation and information and communication technologies are the key areas of cooperation that draw most of the SCO members” interests.
Stressing that in connection with the global financial crisis, the problem of the food security of the population had become the subject of an active consideration of international community, Zarifi said that the SCO was currently working out a draft agreement on cooperation in the field of agriculture.
