Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) agreed on
Friday to set up a special institute to intensify fight against
cross-border drug crimes.
Drug control on the border areas needs to be strengthened and an
intelligence exchange mechanism needs to be established, said
delegates at the symposium including members of SCO and countries
which attended as observer states such as Pakistan. Successful
experiences of dealing with drug crimes were also shared.
The SCO needs to take effective measures to fight terrorism by
cutting off its financing from drug trafficking, said participants,
highlighting that the production and trafficking of narcotics and
mental drugs was one of the most important financing channels of
international terrorist groups.
Dubbed a new model for regional cooperation, the SCO was founded
in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, aiming to promote regional security
and fight terrorism.
The permanent members of the SCO are China, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its four observer states are
Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Iran.
The SCO is scheduled to hold a summit in Shanghai in mid-June.
It is also going to hold a meeting for defense ministers later this
month and a meeting for foreign ministers in mid-May, Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday.
(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2006)