Russian expert hails SCO's first 10 years

According to Xinhua, on the eve of the SCO Astana Summit, Alexander Lukin, director of the Center for East Asia and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies at Moscow State University for International Relations, told Xinhua in a recent interview the organization had demonstrated its importance on both the regional and the world stages.

Lukin said the enlargement of the SCO had proved its vitality and attraction to many other countries.

The regional organization was founded in Shanghai in 2001 with five member states: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and was joined by Uzbekistan later the same year.

It now also has four observer states and two dialogue partners.

Some observer states had applied for SCO membership and other countries were seeking ways to cooperate with the SCO, Lukin said.

He said another area of significant achievement was in the fight against terror.

"Defense and security issues, especially anti-terror cooperation, are always the SCO's top priority. Since the SCO set up its anti-terrorism agency in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, it has done a lot of fruitful work, including holding regular joint drills, information exchanges and personnel training. The counter-terrorism cooperation has become the highlight of SCO activities," he said.

For full version see http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-06/10/c_13921990.htm