Spotlight: Ufa summit to further enhance SCO international status

The 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held on July 9-10 in the Russian city of Ufa is expected to ratify the SCO Development Strategy until 2025.

The comprehensive blueprint, which covers a variety of issues such as the possible breakthrough on the expansion of the bloc, would become a landmark document of the SCO.

The Ufa summit will improve the SCO's ability to maintain stability in the region, promote economic development and further enhance the international status of the regional organization.

SECURITY COOPERATION FOR COMMON SAFETY

As an effective and constructive regional mechanism, the SCO has gained its reputation for successfully protecting regional stability.

Since its establishment in 2001, the bloc has signed many strategic agreements to fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as non-traditional security threats like cross-border crimes.

Based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and trust, the SCO has contributed greatly to regional stability, steadily gaining influence as an effective working mechanism of peacekeeping and a guarantor of stability in the Eurasian region, said President of Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katyrin.

Zhang Xinfeng, director of the Executive Committee of the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorism Agency, told Xinhua ahead of the Ufa summit that the pragmatic cooperation against the "three evil forces" is deepened as various mechanisms have been established.

"Mechanisms have been built up for joint anti-terrorism drills, securing international activities, intelligence exchanges, and joint work against cyber terrorism," Zhang said.

Despite fruitful achievements, the SCO is still facing various security challenges and threats, such as the unstable situation in Afghanistan and growing activities of the Islamic State terrorist group in the region.

During a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers held in Moscow in June, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the SCO members to enhance their ability to maintain stability and to eradicate potential security threats in the region.

He urged the bloc to deal with hot regional issues via anti-extremism forums, establishing anti-terrorism dialogues and consultation mechanisms, strengthening anti-drug cooperation and reinforcing the training of personnel in relevant areas.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION FOR COMMON DEVELOPMENT

SCO member states have passed laws and set up many cooperation mechanisms to promote economic cooperation within the bloc, and have achieved progress in areas of energy, transportation and telecommunication.

And now they also plan to further tap the potential of economic cooperation within the SCO via implementing more strategic and pragmatic projects at the multilateral level.

Moreover, financial support is urgently needed within the bloc, Li Hui, Chinese ambassador to Russia, said, adding that the SCO members should take the cooperation in transportation, energy and agriculture as their priorities.

Noting that the SCO Interbank Consortium and the Entrepreneurs Committee are not enough, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev has urged the finance ministers and central bank heads of the member states to speed up the establishment of the SCO development bank.

Meanwhile, linking China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and Russia's Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) development strategy is a great chance for the SCO to coordinate regional economic cooperation at all levels.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, agreed during Xi's visit to Moscow in early May to link each other's economic development initiatives, while the SCO is expected to play a key role in establishing such a partnership.

The SCO would gain more momentum in economic cooperation, as it would act as an interaction platform for the Silk Road Economic Belt and the EEU initiatives, Katyrin said.

Alexander Lukin, director of the Center for East Asia and SCO Studies at Moscow State University for International Relations, also observed that the Silk Road Economic Belt project could help relieve the SCO of many economic problems.

CULTURAL COOPERATION FOR COMMON UNDERSTANDING

Cultural cooperation in the SCO can solidify the foundation and provide the long-lasting impetus for all-round cooperation.

The SCO member states' ministers of culture, education, science and health have conducted frequent dialogues and regular meetings, as cultural cooperation within the bloc has improved mutual understanding and won the public support.

One of the notable achievements is the operation of the regional education network of the SCO University, which involves more than 80 universities in the SCO member states and observers.

Moreover, the Russian proposal for setting up the SCO TV station would be put into operation at the beginning of this autumn. The special station is expected to broadcast information on different SCO activities, in particular economic and financial ones.

Many experts of the SCO countries have also called for increasing friendly communication among the youth, aiming to enhance mutual understanding and promote win-win cooperation. Endi