SCO summit back in birthplace
SHANGHAI, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Five years on, the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will convene its sixth summit meeting on
Thursday in Shanghai, its birthplace, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its
founding and the 10th of its prototype --the Shanghai Five mechanism.
The Chinese business hub, which lends the regional
group its name, will receive heads of all SCO states, namely, China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The presidents of Mongolia, Pakistan and Iran and an
Indian minister will attend the 2006 Shanghai summit.
The summit, though lasting for only one day, will
certainly be a milestone that marks a new stage for the development of the
rapidly growing regional group, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Deguang said ahead
of the gathering.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Executive Secretary
Vladimir Rushailo of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Deputy
Secretary-General Wilfrido. V. Villacorta of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) will attend the summit as guests.
It was the first time that the SCO invited
representatives of some international organizations that had ties with it to
attend the annual summit.
At the 2006 summit, the heads of state from the SCO
will review the organization's achievements in the past five years, outline
objectives for future cooperation and exchange ideas on major international and
regional issues.
The summit will pass an SCO declaration and endorse a
series of documents, including one on building new security concept and one on
information security, Zhang said.
Some 2 billion U.S. dollars worth of business
contracts and loan agreements are expected to be inked on the sidelines of the
SCO summit.
Those deals will involve a highway project connecting
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, two high-voltage electricity lines in Tajikistan, a
cement plant in Kyrgyzstan with a daily production of 2,500 tons, and a
hydropower station in Kazakhstan.
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou
described the deals as "big presents" for the SCO summit.
To boost cooperation, the SCO will also host an
industry and business forum and announce the official establishment of an
entrepreneurs council. During the summit, an SCO art festival will also be held.
Looking back on the past five years, Zhang said the
SCO had completed its institutional construction and legal framework. "The
necessary systems and mechanisms are all in place, creating conditions and
laying a sound foundation for promoting regional stability and economic
development," he said.
Chinese President Hu Jintao believes that the
"Shanghai Spirit" characterized by mutual trust and benefit, equality, respect
for cultural diversity and a desire for common development is the driving force
behind the SCO's progress.
Against the backdrop of complicated world situations
and numerous regional challenges, the SCO states have reached consensus on
further strengthening cooperation within the SCO framework and working jointly
for the well-being of all peoples inthe region.
The SCO chief said the organization would devote
itself to regional economic integration. "Our present goal is to realize the
free flow of commodities, capital, technology and services in the region within
20 years," he said.
The regional body, established here on June 15, 2001,
is the first international organization with its headquarters in China. In 2004
and 2005, the SCO accepted Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran as observers.
SCO member states cover an area of over 30 million
square kilometers, or about three-fifths of Eurasia, with a population of 1.489
billion, nearly a quarter of the world's total. Enditem
SCO thrives in face of common challenges
Significant SCO summit
