SCO Summit Opens in Beijing

Hu Jintao Presides over the Summit and Delivers an Important Speech

Heads of Member States Put Forward Proposals for the SCO's Future Development

On June 7, 2012, the 12th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) kicked off in the Great Hall of the People. Chinese President Hu Jintao, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Uzbek President Islam Karimov attended the meeting. Hu, as the head of state of the host country, presided over the meeting. The participants exchanged in-depth views on the deepening of friendly cooperation among member states and major international and regional issues and made plans for and reached new consensus on the future development of the SCO.

At 9:30 am, Hu received the distinguished guests and shook hands with them cordially at the north hall of the Great Hall of the People.

The meeting officially started at 9:40am. Hu delivered an important speech with the title of Maintaining Lasting Peace and Promoting Common Development.

He said that the summit is held at the beginning of the second decade of the SCO and has great significance to the SCO's future development.

The SCO has achieved remarkable development over the past decade. We responded to the call of the times for peace and development, upheld the Shanghai Spirit, concluded the long-term good-neighborly friendship and cooperation treaty, carried forward the idea of friendship from generation to generation and created a new model of regional cooperation. The SCO has become the banner of peaceful development. It is widely recognized and supported by the people of member states. Its international influence and status has been significantly improved, said Hu.

He pointed out that the complex and fluctuating international and regional situation at present brings numerous unstable and uncertain factors to the region. Only by strengthening cooperation and solidarity and unswervingly developing the SCO can we effectively handle challenges and problems, maintain regional peace and stability and achieve common development and prosperity.

He added that the SCO is standing at a new starting point. We should work out and well implement the development goals of the SCO in the next decade, make clear the development direction, specify measures and initiatives to ensure the better and faster development of the SCO, bring tangible benefits to the member states and make new contributions to peace and development in the region and the world at large.

Hu put forward 4 proposals. First, build the SCO as a harmonious family, strengthen communication and consultations, enhance mutual understanding and trust, comprehensively implement the long-term good-neighborly friendship and cooperation treaty and strive to build a harmonious region. Second, build the SCO as a strong guarantee for regional security and stability, establish and improve the security cooperation mechanisms, squeeze the space of the "three forces", eradicate drug trafficking and transnational organized crimes and firmly support the efforts of countries to safeguard their sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, security and stability. Third, build the SCO as a driving force for regional economic development, unswervingly push forward pragmatic cooperation, advance the connectivity projects of railways, highways, aviation, telecommunications, power grids and energy pipelines, build the development bank, food safety cooperation mechanism, seed bank, agricultural demonstration bases and the energy club, promote trade and investment facilitation and step up cooperation in science and technology, culture, education, health and other fields. Fourth, build the SCO as an efficient platform for international exchanges and expand its international influence, strengthen consultations with other international and regional organizations, safeguard peace, promote development, push foward world multi-polarization and democratization of international relations and reinforce communication and coordination of position on major international and regional issues.

He said finally that China is willing to work with other member states to fully implement the consensus reached by the meeting of Council of Heads of State, steadily promote cooperation and jointly create the future of the SCO. (See another text for the full speech)

Nazarbayev noted that member states should strengthen planning under the new circumstances to make sure the balanced growth of the SCO in the security, economic and cultural fields. They must resolutely crack down on the "three forces" and international cyber-crime, boost the multilateral economic cooperation, develop the SCO University and enhance educational and cultural exchanges.

Atambaev said that member states should reinforce solidarity and deepen pragmatic cooperation under the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit. It is important to establish the special account and development bank of the SCO and advance energy and transport infrastructure connectivity. Kyrgyzstan will take over the rotation presidency of the SCO and is willing to make positive efforts to promote the SCO's development.

Putin said that the SCO should work out the future development strategy and action plans. It should enhance security cooperation and establish anti-drug functions in its Regional Antiterrorist Structure; deepen economic cooperation, make use of the Entrepreneurs' Committee and Interbank Consortium, boost large cooperation projects and accelerate the development of logistics industry; encourage cultural exchanges. Russia will host the member states' enterprises and border regions youth forum. The SCO should develop links with other countries and international and regional organizations in the principle of openness.

Rahmon noted that the SCO has gained positive results in the political, security, economic, cultural and other fields and opened a new road of good-neighborly and friendly cooperation among member states. The member states should review the experience, support each other and work together to build a safe, happy, harmonious and prosperous family.

Karimov pointed out that the SCO's mid-term development strategic planning makes clear the direction for its future development. He believes the summit will significantly push foward member states' practical cooperation and enable them to respond effectively to new threats and challenges and create a peaceful and secure external environment.

All the participants spoke highly of China's important contributions to the SCO's development and believe that the summit will become a new milestone in the course of development of the SCO.

Participants from the observer countries, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna and those from the host's guest countries, including President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Afghan President Hamid Karzai attended the meeting and made remarks. They expressed willingness to strengthen contact with the SCO, safeguard regional peace and stability and achieve common development.

The participants also exchanged views on the issue of Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear issue.

Secretary-General of the SCO Muratbek Imanaliev, Director of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the SCO Dzhenisbek Dzhumanbekov and officials from the UN, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Community and the Collective Security Treaty Organization were present at the meeting.

The meeting agreed to accept Afghanistan as the SCO's observer state and Turkey the SCO's dialogue partner.

It is decided that the 2013 SCO summit will be held in Kyrgyzstan.

After the meeting, the heads of member states signed the declaration on building a region with lasting peace and common prosperity, the resolution on the SCO's mid-term development strategic planning, the resolution on the SCO regulations on political and diplomatic measures and mechanism of response to events jeopardizing regional peace, security and stability and the resolution on the cooperative program on fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism for 2013-2015 and jointly met the press.

A press communiqué was released by the meeting.

Member of the Secretariat and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee Ling Jihua, member of the Secretariat and Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee Wang Huning and State Councilor Dai Bingguo attended the meeting and related activities.