ASTANA, May 21. /TASS/. The countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) intend to strengthen cooperation in the areas of security and economy, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming said at a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO member states in Astana.

"We will further deepen cooperation in the field of security, including improving the mechanisms to counter modern challenges and threats, primarily in the fight against the three forces of evil (terrorism, separatism, and extremism - TASS)," he said.

He added that the SCO intends to effectively promote economic cooperation and create the necessary conditions for faster movement of goods, capital, services, and technologies between its member countries.

Zhang Ming also noted that the SCO will encourage humanitarian exchanges to strengthen mutual understanding between the people of the organization's member states.

Zhang Ming said earlier that participants of the SCO Foreign Ministers' Council approved more than 20 documents at their meeting in Astana. "As a result of the meeting, 22 decisions concerning multilateral cooperation in the political and diplomatic, trade, cultural and humanitarian fields were adopted. The report of the SCO secretary-general on the work of the secretariat for the period from May 2023 to May this year was approved," he said.

According to him, since last July, when the presidency of the organization passed to Kazakhstan, Astana has organized more than 180 events focusing on various areas. The SCO secretary-general also noted that Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik attended the meeting of the association's foreign ministers for the first time.

Kazakhstan chairs the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from July 5, 2023 to June 2024. The organization is planning to hold a summit on July 3-4 in Astana.