The Uzbek Embassy organized a seminar last week to publicize the country’s hosting of the 15th summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was held in Tashkent in late June.
The event, which saw the participation of various heads of state of Central Asian countries, is a regional platform for addressing political, security, economic and cultural issues in Eurasia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev participated in the summit from June 23-24, along with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who chaired the event.
During the event, India and Pakistan signed memorandums of obligation to start the formal process of joining the organization as full members, which will be completed by the next meeting in Astana next year, according to analysts.
“Uzbekistan has adhered to the principle of mutually beneficial cooperation that meets the interests of all members,” said Uzbek Deputy Head of Mission Bakhtier Ibragimov at the Seoul National University Asia Center on Tuesday. “In particular, Uzbekistan is in favor of further strengthening the SCO to combat global and regional security threats, such as terrorism, religious extremism and national separatism, as well as drug and weapons trafficking and transnational organized crime.”
Since last year’s summit in Ufa, Russia, considerable work has been done to strengthen cooperation in political, security, economic and humanitarian spheres, he added.
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan formed the predecessor “Shanghai Five” in 1996, while Uzbekistan joined the organization in 2001, when it was renamed. Observer states include Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, and dialogue partners are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.
Other participants at the Tashkent summit included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Afghan President Ashraf Gani and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, among others.
According to Kent E. Calder, the director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University, the institution has made headway mainly in security cooperation, especially in antiterrorist activities.
“Fifteen years since establishment, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has rightfully secured a commendable place in the ranks of high-profile and influential international organizations,” Karimov said at the council meeting of the SCO heads of states. “It became an efficient factor of sustainable development, strengthening peace, countering modern challenges and threats and ensuring security and stability on regional and global levels.”
Regarding the security situation in Afghanistan, Karimov said the current “low-grade confrontation” between parties could pose “a serious and real danger of overflowing instability” to neighboring countries and regions.
To tackle the Afghan security issue, “There is only one way out: peaceful political negotiations among major parties under the auspices of the United Nations,” according to the president.
Uzbekistan has assisted the economic and social recovery of Afghanistan through education and building of electric power lines, communications infrastructure and railway lines, he added.
On economic cooperation, enabling intercontinental transport and communications infrastructure -- such as through Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative -- promoting trade linkages and developing advanced technologies were discussed, particularly through the Business Council and the SCO Interbank Association, according to the embassy.
Discussions over humanitarian collaboration encompassed public health issues, such as infectious disease prevention and control, the safe use of drugs and medical devices as well as information systems and telemedicine.
By Joel Lee (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
