SCO Beijing Summit to produce fruitful results

BEIJING - Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said Tuesday that this year's Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit is expected to produce fruitful results.

Cheng made the remark at the sixth Lanting Forum held in the Foreign Ministry.

The 12th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held in Beijing June 6-7.

Cheng said the SCO Beijing Summit will build on the past and plan for the future.

The Beijing Summit will further identify the direction for SCO's development and major tasks for the next decade and adopt the Strategic Plan for the Medium-Term Development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in accordance with the consensus reached at the Astana Summit, he said.

"It is no exaggeration to say the adoption of this document will have far-reaching influence on SCO's development," he said.

The SCO Beijing Summit will deepen cooperation for win-win results, said Cheng, adding that significant outcome documents will be adopted in all cooperation fields.

In the political field, we will adopt the Declaration on Building a Region with Lasting Peace and Common Prosperity, which will be the first political document of the SCO themed on building a harmonious region, he said.

In the security field, the amendments to the SCO Regulations on Political and Diplomatic Measures and Mechanism of Response to Events Jeopardizing Regional Peace, Security and Stability will be adopted, which will considerably boost SCO's ability to prevent and tackle emergencies, he said.

In the economic field, the member states will reach new consensus on establishing multilateral financing guarantee mechanisms and speeding up transportation facilitation, he said.

Cheng said the SCO Beijing Summit will keep the SCO open and expand the dialogue.

"The upcoming Summit will review the issue of accepting Afghanistan as an observer state and Turkey as a dialogue partner, " he said, adding that it testifies to the continued expansion of the SCO, increasing cooperation with other countries in the region and stronger capacity to participate in regional and international affairs.

Cheng said the SCO Beijing Summit will conduct bilateral interactions along with multilateral cooperation.

Several leaders of SCO member states and observer states attending the Summit will pay visits to China before and after the Summit, he said, noting that this speaks fully to the strong aspirations of both sides for greater cooperation.

"It will lend new impetus to the development of bilateral relations between China and relevant countries," said Cheng.

China has served as SCO rotating president since the Astana Summit last year. Over the past year, the member states have actively implemented the consensus of the leaders and rolled out a series of new measures to deepen cooperation in various fields under the framework of the "Year of Good-Neighborly Friendship", he said.

They have set the goal of building a harmonious region, developed a strategic plan for the next decade and improved the concrete measures to forestall and handle crises, he said.

In addition, they have made a detailed list of cooperation programs that member states can join in a flexible manner, discussed the plan to set up financing guarantee mechanisms and held over 30 events of friendly exchanges in the political, economic, trade, investment, energy, transportation, educational, cultural, health, youth, tourism and other areas, he said.

Earlier next month, President Hu Jintao will chair the SCO Beijing Summit, said Cheng.

This Summit will take place at a crucial moment when the SCO is to build on its past achievements, and chart the course and identify the approach for the future development, he said.

"With the support and collaboration from all sides, China has full confidence in making the Summit a success, " he said, adding that he believed the Beijing Summit will bring China's SCO presidency to a successful conclusion.