The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) formally launched
its regional anti-terrorist body Thursday morning in the Uzbek
capital of Tashkent. Leaders of the six SCO member countries and
representatives from international and regional organizations
attended the ceremony.
The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure was formally launched
hours before a summit meeting of the SCO, which will be dominated
by discussion on cooperation between member states on diplomacy,
security, economy, transportation and other matters.
The SCO secretariat, formed last January in Beijing, and the
Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure are two permanent bodies of the
SCO.
The launch of the anti-terrorist body indicates that the SCO has
completed its structure building and has entered a stage of
pragmatic cooperation among member states, diplomats said.
The prime objectives and functions of the Regional
Anti-Terrorist Structure are:
· Maintaining working contacts with main administrative
bodies of SCO member states and strengthening coordination with
international organizations on matters of combating the Three Evil
Forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism;
· Participating in preparing drafts of international legal
documents on matters of combating the Three Evil Forces, taking
steps to establish--together with the UN Security Council and its
anti-terrorist committee, and international and regional
organizations--a mechanism for regulation of global challenges and
threats;
· Gathering and analyzing information provided by member
states on matters concerning the fight against the Three Evil
Forces creating an anti-terrorist database and presenting proposals
for promoting cooperation within the SCO in the struggle against
the Three Evil Forces;
· Preparing and holding research conferences to exchange
experiences on combating the Three Evil Forces.
The SCO, set up in June 2001, consists of six member states:
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan.
(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2004)