DUSHANBE, April 17. /ITAR-TASS/. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon has praised the activity of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) while calling for adopting a new SCO development strategy until 2025, in connection with aggravation of the situation in the world.

Rakhmon made the statement on Thursday as he was receiving members of the delegations of the SCO Security Councils' secretaries who had gathered for their 9th meeting in the Tajik capital.

Rakhmon praised "effective interaction within the SCO framework underlining that Tajikistan would continue to make efforts towards developing and expanding mutually advantageous ties," the presidential press service quoted him as saying.

During the meeting, Rakhmon drew the attention of the participants in the meeting to stepping up joint efforts in fighting terrorism, extremism, separatism, drug-trafficking and cross-border crime.

Taking part in the meeting are Security Councils' secretaries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, Chinese Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun, Deputy Security Council Secretary of Uzbekistan Shavkat Shakirov and SCO Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev. The Russian delegation is led by Secretary of Russia's Security Council Nikolai Patrushev.