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SCO leaders to adopt Bishkek Declaration at their summit Sept 13

The forum will open with a meeting in narrow format

BEIJING, September 13 (Itar-Tass) - The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will adopt the Bishkek Declaration at their summit to start in the capital of Kyrgyzstan on Friday, September 13.

“When drafting this substantive document, the parties worked hard and professionally. It will contain a balanced assessment of what has been done in the Organisation over the past year, the events that characterise the situation in the region, and international trends,” SCO Secretary-General Dmitry Mezentsev said in an interview with ITAR-TASS and Rossiiskaya Gazeta ahead of the summit.

He noted that the summit meetings of the presidents of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan were an important event in the Organisation’s life. “The leaders of our countries assess the situation in the region, state their positions on a wide range of issues on the SCO agenda and on international processes, and approve binding decisions,” Mezentsev said.

The forum will open with a meeting in narrow format, which will focus on pressing issues of multifaceted cooperation within the SCO as well as the situation in the region and the world.

It will be followed by a plenary meeting where the participants will discuss ways to step up joint efforts towards stronger stability and security in the SCO region.

At the summit in Bishkek, the SCO heads of state will consider a draft action plan to implement the main provisions of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation in 2013-2017. “This is a very comprehensive document. The treaty has passed national procedures in each of the SCO member states, it has been ratified by the national parliaments and it has acquired the status of law,” Mezentsev said.

“The treaty signed by the presidents in 2007 predetermines dynamic and far-reaching future development of the Organisation. The signing of the Guidelines for SCO Mid-Term Development Strategy at the summit in Beijing in 2012 is an example of that. Experts are already beginning to draft the Organisation’s strategy up to 2025,” he said.

Mezentsev will present a SCO performance report at the summit.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an intergovernmental international organisation founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001 by six countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Its member states cover an area of over 30 million square kilometres, or about three-fifths of Eurasia, with a population of 1.455 billion, about a quarter of the world's total. Its working languages are Chinese and Russian.

Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan have the status of observer. In 2012, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, and Sri Lanka filed applications for the status of observer. Belarus, Sri Lanka, and Turkey are also dialogue partners.

The leaders of all member states have confirmed their participation. Afghanistan, Iran and Mongolia will attend as observers. India and Pakistan will send in high-level delegations. A U.N. undersecretary-general, senior officials from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) will also attend the summit.

Security has been tightened in Bishkek ahead of the summit. About 2,500 policemen will ensure law and order during the forum.

The Foreign Ministry said about 350 journalists from 17 countries, representing 67 mass media, will cover the summit, including ITAR-TASS, Reuters, France Presse, the Associated Press, Xinhua, Bloomberg News, ORT, BBC and others.