WEEKLY REVIEW. The SCO summit, visit of Brazilian President Luis da Silva

The alliance of the SCO member countries occupies 25 % of the planet territory. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization started the summit in Yekaterinburg on the 15th of June, the day when the organization was founded eight years ago. The summit summed up the activity of the organization for the period since the Dushanbe summit in 2008, and outlined the priority directions of the joint work within the SCO. Expansion of international relations, regional and global policy and economy was among the main issues on the agenda of the leaders of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The main document signed was the Yekaterinburg Declaration, which estimates the modern international environment, points out irreversibility of the tendency towards real multi-polarity and enhancement of the meaning of regional aspect in the solution of global challenges. In this document the parties advocated reinforcement of legal bases in the international relations and promotion of the coordinating role of the UN globally. The parties also confirmed their adherence to the principles of peacekeeping and regulation of international and regional conflicts by political and diplomatic means. The parties spoke for support of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and called to active cooperation in the control and management of international finances. Also the six leaders signed the SCO Convention against terrorism that formed the legal basis of the Organization taking into account the call of the time and altering challenges and threats. The Provision on political and diplomatic measures and mechanisms of the SCO responding to the situations threatening peace, security and regional stability has special importance for the coordination of positions and actions of the Organization members. Issues of drug trafficing, terrorism and organized criminality held special place in the SCO chart of mutual actions of the SCO members and Afghanistan. The decision to grant the partner status to the Republic of Belarus and Sri-Lanka confirmed the openness of the SCO. The SCO leaders held traditional meetings in private and exchanged opinions with the heads of the observer countries of the Organization. President of Afghanistan and representatives of the UN, SCO, CSTO, and EurAsEC joined the plenary session. The observer countries were represented by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, First Prime Minister of Mongolia Norovyn Altanhuyag and Pakistan President Asif Zardari. Among the invitees were Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and heads of a number of international organizations. Uzbekistan will take the chair of the Organization upon completion of the Yekaterinburg summit. On the 16th of June Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh within the SCO summit. In January, 2009 President Nazarbayev made an official visit to India. A range of documents in the field of nuclear energy, informational technologies were signed there. The sides expressed readiness to develop strategic partnership. N.Nazarbayev noted that they held successful negotiations in Delhi and he was satisfied with the results of the visit. The leaders reached agreements on different sectors of economy in Delhi. After that the talks continued behind closed doors. On the same day President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested the creation of a supranational currency for mutual exchanges within the SCO. He said that with the purpose of effective use of the SCO member states? economic potential he supported the proposal of the Russian President to study the opportunity of introduction of a common supranational currency. It could be used in trade-economic settlements between the SCO states. The leaders of the SCO member states ordered to experts to study the issue of creation of the common supranational currency. After the SCO summit in Russia Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev departed to Kazakhstan to meet President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived with a state visit to Kazakhstan. The talks were held in narrow and extended formats. The presidents discussed the prospects of development of bilateral relations, opportunities of the Brazilian business participation in breakthrough projects and diversification of Kazakhstan?s economy. The parties exchanged opinions on the issues of international policy and expressed interest in deepening of bilateral cooperation in ensuring regional and global security, countering international terrorism, consolidating financial and economic stability. The volume of Kazakh-Brazilian trade turnover amounted to USD 274.4 million in 2008, including USD 26.5 million of export (products of chemical industry), USD 247.9 million of import (food and agricultural products, base metals, equipment). The index increased 1.9 times as compared to the year of 2007. Perspective directions are energy, metallurgy, engineering, agriculture, aviation and space research, tourism and sport. It should be noticed that the Brazilian President makes the first ever visit to the Central Asian region.