Spotlight: SCO leaders vow to lift cooperation to «qualitatively new level

The heads of state of the SCO signed the Tashkent Declaration of the 15th Anniversary of the SCO at the 16th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, a two-day summit in Tashkent.

The leaders noted that the SCO cooperation has produced fruitful results and that "all preconditions are in place now" to upgrade the cooperation, according to a report on the outcomes of the meeting.

The new level of cooperation will be "characterized by increasing the efficiency of cooperation in the spheres of politics, security, economy, development of cultural and humanitarian ties," said the report.

The leaders at the meeting also reaffirmed that the organization, currently grouping China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is open for accession by interested states which meet the criteria and conditions.

PAIRING OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

The leaders noted that the world economy is still suffering from the effects of the global financial and economic crisis.

The SCO member states should "strive for a profound transformation of the global economy through large-scale, structural reforms, diversified and improving competitiveness of economies and innovative development on a long-term basis," they said.

The significant potential for trade and economic relations and investment cooperation within the SCO framework, accumulated over the past 15 years, provides for the expansion of the cooperation, they said.

The member states vowed to seek the pairing of their national development strategies and strengthen the cooperation in their economic and trade programs.

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