The Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders plan to sign several agreements
enhancing anti-terror cooperation at their summit in Shanghai on Thursday,
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said in
Moscow yesterday.
"Joint efforts against terrorism, separatism and extremism, the fight against
illicit drug and arms trafficking, and illegal migration are among the key goals
and objectives of the organization," Alexeyev was quoted by the Itar-Tass news
agency assaying.
Work is coordinated through meetings of the national Security Council
secretaries and the Regional Anti-Terror Structure (RATS),which "prepares
proposals on the development of cooperation in this field for relevant
structures in the SCO member countries, and builds up the RATS databank on
international terrorists, separatists or other extremists," Alexeyev said.
The leaders of the six SCO member states -- Russia, China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan -- also plan to sign "agreements on
cooperation in exposing and blocking channels used for infiltrating persons
involved in terrorist, separatist and extremist activities into the SCO
countries," he said.
"The scale and nature of transborder threats are such that the operations of
special agencies alone are not enough. The defense ministries have also become
involved in anti-terror work within the SCO," the diplomat said.
In 2003, an anti-terror exercise code named Cooperation-2003 was held in
Kazakhstan and China. It involved more than 1,000 military servicemen from
Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
"A similar exercise is planned to be held in Russia" in 2007, Alexeyev
said.