Yekaterinburg Summit to promote realization of members' common goals: SCO secretary general

by Xinhua writers Hai Yang, Zhao Jialin

MOSCOW, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is expected to work out a plan in realizing the common goals that can ensure peace, security and stable development of the regional bloc and its members, the SCO secretary-general said.

On the eve of the ninth SCO summit scheduled for June 15-16 in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg, Bolat Nurgaliyev told Xinhua that leaders from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan would discuss regional and global issues as well as development of the organization and guarantee of stable and smooth domestic development of its members.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing global financial turmoil, the SCO members should first of all jointly carry out specific projects, Nurgaliyev said.

The Program on Measures of Implementing the Outline on Multilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation among the SCO Members passed in September 2004, has listed several cooperation projects in spheres such as transportation, energy, trade and agriculture, he said.

All of these projects have provided chances for SCO members and observers to ward off the financial crisis together.

The SCO, established in 2001, has Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran as its observers.

"Hand in hand, we are able to reduce the negative impact of the crisis to the minimum within our economic zone," said Nurgaliyev.