Chinese FM says ministerial meeting furthers SCO cooperation

DUSHANBE, Aug - The ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has further boosted the organization's cooperation in various fields, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Friday.

At Thursday's meeting, foreign ministers from the SCO member countries exchanged views on maintaining regional peace and stability and deepening cooperation in various fields, Wang said at a joint news conference with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov.

The construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt initiated by China was backed by the participants, he said.

All the member countries have agreed to further strengthen cooperation and jointly crack down on the three forces of separatism, terrorism and extremism, and deepen cooperation in such areas as communications, energy and finance to create favorable conditions for regional trade and investment, the Chinese minister said.

The meeting has reached consensus on the legal documents about SCO expansion, passing in principle two draft documents on expansion for the approval by the SCO summit to be held here in September, he said.

If approved, the two documents will mark the completion of the legal framework for SCO expansion, Wang said.

The ministerial meeting made full preparations for the September summit and ministers signed 11 resolutions, he said.

In addition, the ministers fully exchanged views on regional and international issues, including the situation in Afghanistan.

They also agreed to jointly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory of World War II.

The SCO embraces six members -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan currently holds the SCO's rotating presidency.