Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd R) and leaders of other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states pose for a group photo before the 16th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 24, 2016. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
Leaders of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) vowed on Friday to raise the regional cooperation to a qualitatively new level.[Special coverage]
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.
The leaders reaffirmed the support for the Silk Road Economic Belt, a regional development initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 that seeks to boost regional economic activities by linking China with Europe through Central and Western Asia by inland routes.
They promised to jointly construct the Silk Road Economic Belt, which they said can be one of the tools for facilitating regional economic cooperation.
The member states also agreed to continue mutually beneficial multi-faceted cooperation in energy, transport corridors, public health, science and technology, education, environmental protection, sports, tourism and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
SECURITY COOPERATION REMAINS ONE OF PRIORITIES
The leaders at the Tashkent summit held important consensus on security cooperation.
The SCO member states called for joint and consolidated efforts and comprehensive measures to deal with the growing threat of international terrorism and extremism and address their root causes.
