BEIJING - Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to the 10th Meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will lay a solid foundation for SCO cooperation in the next decade, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said on Tuesday.

Cheng said at a press briefing that the SCO PM meeting will be significant for promoting the healthy and stable development of the organization, as well as development in the region in general.

He said Wen will attend the meeting from November 6 to 8 and meet with leaders from participating countries.

The prime ministers of SCO member states, as well as representatives from the observer states of Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India will attend the meeting.

Officials from Afghanistan, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Eurasian Economic Community and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) were also invited to the meeting, Cheng said.

Cheng said the prime ministers of the member states will hold a smaller group meeting before joining an expanded discussion with all participants. Agreement-signing ceremonies and joint press conferences will also be on the agenda, he said.

Wen and leaders from the SCO member states will view the organization's development and cooperation over the past year, thoroughly analyze the current international and regional situation and make working plans for the SCO's next phase of development while taking the consensus reached at the Astana Summit into consideration, Cheng said.

Cheng mentioned three specific goals for the meeting, including issuing a joint communique after the meeting regarding the economic situation of the SCO, the creation of plans for future work based on a summary of the organization's cooperative efforts thus far and the promotion of economic and trade cooperation.

Cheng said the SCO has been developing in the areas of security, economics and culture over the past decade and seen fruitful results in enhancing mutual trust and cooperation among member states.

SCO members have maintained close contact and mutual support on issues concerning long-term peace and stability, effectively combating the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, Cheng said.

SCO members have also achieved deepened economic cooperation, identifying cooperative potential in the areas of finance, transportation, energy, agriculture and technology, Cheng said.

People-to-people contacts have been more frequent among SCO member states and their relations have been strengthened, Cheng said. Cooperation in public health, culture, education and emergency relief has been vigorously carried out within the organization, he said.

Cheng said that complicated and profound changes in the international and regional situation, as well as a possible downturn in the global economy, will create challenges for the development of SCO member states and also create higher demands for the SCO.