Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai by six countries - People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran have the status of observers under organization.

The exterminating factor for integration and further cooperation of SCO member-states was and remains the external threats and challenges to regional stability; first of all in the form of terrorism, extremism, economic problems in the world facing hard globalization process. SCO reflects the intention of member-states to undertake synergy attempts in solving the problems of regional security, strengthening confidence and economic cooperation.

SCO establishment has initiated creation of a new system of sub-regional cooperation through close interrelations of six countries assuming accession of other countries on the assumption of their agreement to follow principle and obligations that are the major SCO fundamentals. In this context openness of SCO activity becomes very important.

The total area occupied by the SCO member states is about 30 million 189 thousand square kilometres, or about three fifth the territory of Eurasia, with a population of 1.455 billion people, or about a quarter of total population of the world.

The SCO major goals and objectives:

Strengthening mutual trust and good-neighborliness and friendship;
Developing multilateral cooperation aimed at support and strengthening peace, security and stability in the region, promoting new democratic, fair and rational political and economic international order;
Joint resistance to terrorism, separatism and extremism in any forms, struggle against illegal drug and arm turnover, other forms of transnational crime, and illicit migration;
Encouraging effective regional cooperation in political, defense, law-enforcement, environmental, cultural, scientific-technical, credit-financial areas as well as in education and transport, that are of common interest for all member-states;
Facilitating overall balanced economic growth, social and cultural development on the region through synergy initiatives based on equal partnership for constant increase of living standards and improvement of living conditions of population;
Coordination of approaches to integration into world economy;
Promoting provision of human rights and main freedoms in accordance with international obligations of member-states and national legislation;
Maintaining and developing partnership relations with other states and international organizations;
Cooperation for the sake of preventing international conflicts and peaceful settlement;
Joint solutions of XXI century challenges.

SCO structure:

The Council of Heads of States;
The Council of Heads of Governments (Prime-ministers);
The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs;
The Council of Ministers/Heads of government Agencies;
The Council of National Coordinators of SCO member-states;
The SCO Secretariat;
The SCO Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.

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