by Xinhua writers Yu Maofeng, Liu Yang

    MOSCOW, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held a special meeting on Afghanistan on Friday, which has attracted great attention from the international community due to the unique role that SCO members and observers will play in solving Afghanistan's problems.

    It is well known that with the joint efforts of the Afghan government and people as well as support from the international community, Afghanistan has made positive progress in its peace process and economic reconstruction.

    However, the war-ravaged country still faces prominent problems such as resurgent terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and a slow reconstruction pace. The "spillover effects" of the problems have cast a shadow over regional peace and stability.

    Afghanistan borders five SCO members and observers. To the north of Afghanistan are China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and its southern neighbors include Pakistan and Iran. Turkmenistan, though not an SCO member, has always maintained close ties with other countries in the region.

    The problems of terrorism and drug trafficking are spreading from Afghanistan to neighboring countries, posing threats to regional security. Only through joint efforts by neighboring countries to cut off the criminals' source of cash and weapons, can the threats be kept under control and be eradicated. In this sense, the SCO can play an irreplaceable role in solving the Afghan problems.

    Apart from the SCO members and observers, the United States, Britain, France, the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and other international organizations also sent representatives to the special meeting in Moscow. The presence of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon showed that the United Nations also attaches great importance to the gathering.

    Afghanistan is of strategic significance as it is located at the crossing of Central Asia and the Middle East. In history, superpowers and various factions fought wars in Afghanistan, causing great damage and disaster. However, all of the attempts to seize Afghanistan ended in failure.

    The United States launched anti-terror operations in Afghanistan following the 9/11 terror attacks. Even with the support of NATO allies, the United States has not been able to root out terrorist forces in the country.

    The United States has realized it will not succeed without cooperating with the Central Asian and Eurasian states.

    Kyrgyzstan has decided to close the Manas air base, which has served as a key logistic center for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. Once that supply route is blocked, prospects for U.S. anti-terror efforts become more gloomy.

    Participants to the special meeting agreed that it is necessary to review the measures taken in the past to stabilize Afghanistan. This gathering provides a good platform for such reviews.

    All the participants agreed to provide more assistance to the Afghan government and acknowledged the SCO's key role in settling Afghanistan's problems.

    The Moscow meeting has offered a new opportunity for the international community to examine ways of jointly addressing the Afghan problems.

    On the basis of the core role of the United Nations and strict adherence to the UN Charter, the international community should expand assistance to the Afghan government and its security departments and take coordinated action to cope with the threats.