SCO PMs call for deeper cooperation among member states

BISHKEK - Prime ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, meeting here Wednesday, urged closer cooperation among member states.

Leaders of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kygyzstan made the call at the 11th SCO prime ministers' meeting.

Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov said the main task of the SCO in the future was to promote economic cooperation, as the group had become an important stabilizing factor in maintaining regional security.

He said the SCO needed to focus on the implementation of two or three cooperative projects in the near future, such as the establishment of SCO banks and a SCO Development Fund.

Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov said it was necessary to create conditions for transport cooperation within the SCO framework.

"All the countries are interested in creating favorable conditions for the development of international transport," he said.

"Tajikistan is ready to contribute to the construction project of the railway linking China, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran," he said.

Kyrgyz Prime Minister Jantoro Satybaldiyev called for the alignment of SCO economies.

"Taking into account the different development levels of the SCO economies, it is necessary to make concrete steps to align the economies of our countries," he said.

Among the priorities for cooperation, he emphasized the efficient use of energy and development of natural resources.

Attending the gathering are the prime ministers of the six SCO members -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- and five observer countries -- Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran, India and Afghanistan.

The meeting is expected to lay a solid foundation for the SCO's future development by implementing the results of the SCO Beijing Summit held in June.

During the one-day event, the SCO prime ministers will approve a list of measures for advancing multilateral project cooperation between 2012 and 2016 and sign a memorandum on enhancing customs cooperation to protect intellectual property rights.

The prime ministers are also expected to work out concrete measures to further deepen economic and cultural cooperation within the group. A joint communique will be issued at the end of the meeting.