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SCO leaders to set bloc's future direction at summit

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-09 15:51

ALMATY - Leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states will chart the direction of the bloc's future development at their upcoming summit, a senior Kazakh official said.

"The summit will review current regional and global situations, set directions for the organization's future development and its relations with observer countries and other international organizations," Zhanar Aitzhanova, Kazakh minister for economic development and trade, told Xinhua in an interview ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Kazakhstan.

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At the invitation of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Hu will pay a state visit to Uzbekistan and attend the annual SCO summit in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent from June 9 to 11. As a guest of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, he will also visit Kazakhstan from June 11 to 12.

Aitzhanova said the SCO leaders are also expected to tackle urgent challenges including the global financial crisis and security safeguards, and pass resolutions on those issues during the summit.

It is a pressing task for SCO member states to enhance capacities to address threats and risks of the crisis, she said, adding that "close cooperation is significant to mitigate the impacts of the crisis to the minimum level."

Aitzhanova said the joint communique on future cooperation issued at the SCO prime ministers' meeting last year gave new impetus to regional cooperation and enhanced member states' confidence in dealing with the financial crisis.

She added that extensive cooperation is needed among member states in transportation, communication, logistics, trade, tourism, agriculture and the building of modern infrastructure.

Aitzhanova said the SCO plays an active role in promoting global and regional development as well as the political stability and sustainable economic growth of its member states.

Founded in 2001 in Shanghai, China, the SCO groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, covering an area of more than 30 million square km with a population of about 1.5 billion. Since the SCO initiated an observer mechanism in 2004, Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India have become observer states of the bloc.

On China-Kazakhstan relations, Aitzhanova said both sides attach great importance to the development of their strategic partnership, and there's huge potential for cooperation in the areas of industry, energy, technology, culture and security. China has become the fourth largest trade partner of Kazakhstan.

The two nations should further expand their trade and economic ties for mutual benefit, so that they could jointly mitigate the negative impact of the financial crisis and maintain sustainable and healthy growth of their economies, the official added.