Summit promotes SCO agenda

The 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit will promote multilateral cooperation on security issues such as terrorism and drug trafficking, experts said.

Security cooperation is one of the top priorities for SCO, which now plays an increasingly vital role in building trust and consensus among Asian member states, as uncertainties rise in Central Asia and the Middle East, and helps maintain peace and development in the region, they said.

The SCO has eight member states - China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - accounting for more than 20 percent of the global economy and 40 percent of its population. Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus are SCO observer states.