Successful SCO summit

It is heartening to see the 12th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, has fulfilled its task of mapping out a new blueprint for the development of the six-member bloc over the next decade.

The leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have endorsed a series of documents that pave the way for closer cooperation in a wide range of fields, including security, trade, investment, finance, transportation, energy, telecommunications, agriculture, culture, education and people-to-people exchanges.

To advance regional economic development, the organization will forge ahead with the establishment of a special account and development bank. To better fulfill its role as a reliable guarantor of regional security and to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, the SCO member states will enhance their early warning capacity and capabilities to handle emergencies.