SCO Tashkent summit to focus on security, economic coordination
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The 10th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), set for June 10-11 in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, will discuss key regional and global problems.
It also will consider issues of strengthening stability and security in Central Asia and the expansion of SCO contacts with other multilateral organizations.
As the organization has developed and found its own position in regional and world affairs, the objective of the SCO now is to complement and coordinate, not to compete, especially in security and economic issues, analysts say.
Regional security: common ground
Some experts believe the strongest aspect of the SCO is that it is a convenient place for dialogue on security in Central Asia, including Afghan factors such as drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime. Currently, the SCO has been invited to every major international event related to Afghanistan.
Irina Kobrinskaya, an expert at the Russian Global Economy and International Affairs Institute, told Xinhua on the eve of the summit that common interests inside the bloc include regional security, mainly in Afghanistan.
The aims of the member centuries' foreign policies are different, but the threat to their security originates from a common source, he said.
Besides issues related to the Afghan situation, stability in Kyrgyzstan will be another hot issue at the upcoming summit.
Experts expect that the Kyrgyz delegation will be very active during the summit. The recent incidents in Kyrgyzstan leaves its leaders no choice but to ask for financial assistance and moral support from more powerful neighbors.
"When five years ago there was turbulence in Kyrgyzstan, the SCO helped to downgrade the level of adversity there. Now the situation in Kyrgyzstan is rather similar to that in 2005. The SCO plays its role again to decrease the tension on the borders, provide assistance to Kyrgyzstan," Leonid Moiseev, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's special representative for SCO affairs, told Xinhua.
