SHANGHAI -- The five-year-old Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is to hold its 2006 summit in Shanghai on Thursday, has been growing as a major force for world peace, stability and development.

As one of the regional organizations formed against the backdrop of economic globalization and political multi- polarization in the world, the SCO has seen a fast expansion in areas of cooperation among its member countries from politics and security to economy and culture following its founding in 2001 in the Chinese city.

The SCO, which groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is now seen as a mature international organization with a solidly-laid foundation, a complete set of stable mechanisms for cooperation and efficient working structure.

Acting under "the Shanghai Spirit," China has completely resolved the border disputes left over by history with Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan after the signing of agreements on confidence building and reciprocal cut in armed forces in border areas.

The SCO members have also strengthened cooperation and coordination on major international and "hotspot" issues and made concerted joint efforts in pushing for the establishment of a new political and economic world order.

They adopted a common position on the situation in Afghanistan and expressed common views on multi-polarization, democratization in international relations, economic globalization, multilateralism, diversification of civilizations and human rights.

Security has been a main area of cooperation among the SCO member countries, which signed the agreement on fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism on June 15, 2001 when the SCO was set up, several months before the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

In anti-terror cooperation, satisfying progress has been made in collecting, analyzing and sharing information and personnel training in the past five years.

In the economic area, guidelines on multilateral trade and economic cooperation among the SCO nations were formulated at the Beijing prime ministers' meeting in September 2003.

The goal is to achieve free flow of goods, service, capital and technology by 2020 among the SCO countries through trade and investment facilitation and economic and technological cooperation.

A total of 127 projects were identified for cooperation at the SCO prime ministers' meeting in September 2004 in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, as a follow-up to implement the guidelines.

The projects cover the areas of trade, investment, customs, finance, taxation, transportation, energy, agriculture, technology, telecommunication, environment, health and education.

A new security concept, a new mode for nation-to-nation relations and a new mode for regional cooperation have appeared on the horizon as the SCO deepens cooperation in line with "the Shanghai Spirit," which calls for mutual trust and common security, partnership and non-alliance, openness and transparency, equality and consensus, mutual benefit and being not against any third country or regional groups.

With a great potential for and a broad and bright prospect of cooperation, The six-member SCO has aroused worldwide interest in it as more and more countries hope to enhance exchange with it.

Mongolia, India, Iran and Pakistan have been granted the status of SCO observers and they have established close cooperative relations with the regional grouping.

The SCO also strengthened cooperation and exchanges with other international organizations such as the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

There are good reasons to believe that the SCO will continue to make contributions to peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large.