International   

Shanghai Group to boost defence ties

MOSCOW: The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Thursday pledged to keep foreign players out of Central Asia and moved to boost their security cooperation.

Regional security is the responsibility of the SCO and no one else, the six member-states said in a political declaration adopted at their summit in Bishkek on Thursday.

“The heads of state think that stability and security in Central Asia can be ensured above all through the efforts of the regional states on the basis of regional international organisations established in the region,” the declaration said.

In a joint communiqué of the summit the leaders of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan promised to upgrade their cooperation in security and defence. They resolved to “speed up the creation of a mechanism for joint response to situations posing a threat to peace, stability and security in the region.”

SCO war games, “Peace Mission 2007”, held concurrently with the Bishkek summit, were part of such a rapid-reaction mechanism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his speech.

On Friday, the SCO leaders will go to Russia to watch the final stage of the week-long joint military drill in western Siberia.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Quake devastates Peru towns
Shanghai Group to boost defence ties
Pakistan: U.S. for smooth transition
Colombo for global efforts against terror
Government given a week’s time to produce Sharif “deal” papers
U.S. may blacklist Iran Guards
U.S. documents show Pakistan aided Taliban
Danes say sorry for Viking raids on Ireland
The CD is 25 today
Focus on India as potential ‘powerhouse’

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu