Secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang
Deguang said in Beijing on Friday that this organization will give
priority to cooperation with Afghanistan in regional security.
Speaking at a ceremony held at the Beijing-based SCO Secretariat
for signing the protocol on the establishment of a liaison group
between the SCO and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Zhang said
Afghanistan is a friendly neighbor of SCO member states. Its
domestic situation has great impact on the security of Central
Asia.
"Afghanistan has become one of the major battlefields of global
fight against terrorism. The SCO, whose overwhelming majority of
member states are in Central Asia, shares similar aspiration with
Afghanistan in strengthening mutual cooperation to safeguard
regional peace and stability," he said.
Qiamuddin Rai Barlas, ambassador of Afghanistan to China, said
at the ceremony that the establishment of the liaison group will be
a new starting point for promoting existing historic relationship
between Afghanistan and China as well as other countries in the
region.
In accordance with the protocol, the SCO-Afghanistan liaison
group will hold regular consultations to make proposals and
recommendations on cooperation between the two sides on issues of
common concern.
(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2005)