SCO leaders urge economic, security co-op

YEKATERINBURG, Russia, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Tuesday called for strengthened cooperation in economy and security among member states.

Chinese President Hu Jintao attends the small-sized group meeting of the leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization  (SCO) member states and observers in Yekaterinburg, Russia,  on June 16, 2009.(Xinhua Photo)

In a speech delivered at the ninth summit of the SCO held in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg, Chinese President Hu Jintao called on members to deepen economic cooperation.

"The SCO members need to hold hands to jointly cope with the impact of the international financial crisis, and to push for recovery of the world economy," he said.

To realize this goal, Hu suggested SCO member states enhance coordination in macroeconomic and financial policies, expedite the implementation of energy, transportation, and telecommunication network programs and actively promote cooperation in new industries.

He said member states should establish a financial dialogue mechanism, and strengthen multilateral cooperation in science and technology in a bid to improve productivity through technological innovation.

Hu reiterated that China will continue to support multilateral and bilateral cooperation within the framework of the SCO, saying the country will provide a 10-billion-U.S. dollar credit loan to SCO members to shore up their economies amid the global financial crisis.

China will also organize visits by trade and investment promotion delegations to other SCO member states to boost two-way trade and investment, Hu said.