SCO summit will address situation in Afghanistan - Ushakov
MOSCOW. Sept 10 (Interfax) - The heads of the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will discuss the situation of Afghanistan, as well as the situation in the region and the world in general at the SCO summit in Dushanbe, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said, commenting on the summit program before Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Dushanbe, which is scheduled for September 11-12.
Ushakov said a concert devoted to the summit will be held on Thursday evening, which will be followed by lunch for the heads of the delegations. Friday will begin with a group photo of the heads of the SCO countries, which will be followed by meetings of the heads of the SCO countries and the delegations (the meeting between the delegations will involve the heads of the delegations of the countries that have observer status in the SCO (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan)).
"Traditionally, a lot of attention will be given to informal debates on the situation in Afghanistan," Ushakov said. The meeting participants are expected to express a consolidated position of the heads of the SCO countries, which call for the development of Afghanistan as an independent neutral and peaceful state.
"We also plan to state our readiness to organize in Russia a high-level conference under the aegis of the SCO devoted to Afghanistan, to which member countries, observers, dialogue partners, and representatives of other interested countries and international organizations will be invited," Ushakov said.
Ushakov said the meeting participants will continue discussing Russia's initiative to transform the SCO regional anti-terrorist structure into a universal SCO center for prevention of challenges and security threats.
"Some countries have nuances in the context of this discuss, and therefore the SCO plans to gradually promote this Russian initiative," Ushakov said.
In this case, new working groups will be created, including on the prevention of terrorism financing and the production and turnover of drugs.
Ushakov recalled that Russia will replace Tajikistan as chair of the SCO and the next SCO summit will be held in Ufa on July 9-10, 2015.
"As soon as we become [SCO] chair, an address by the Russian president will be published, which will sum up the priorities of our work as chair," Ushakov said.
The summit participants plan to sign a number of documents, including the Dushanbe Declaration of the Heads of the SCO Countries, which will outline the countries' approaches to the future development of the organization and its views of the main international issues.
"The Dushanbe Declaration is expected to address the situation in Ukraine, which will also be discussed in a closed meeting," Ushakov said.
Specifically, the heads of the SCO countries are expected to speak for prompt restoration of peace in Ukraine and further negotiations to fully resolve the crisis in Ukraine.
The summit participants will also adopt the SCO Development Strategy for the period until 2025, which, among other things, will outline the priority areas of "further consolidation of the SCO and increasing the authority and weight of this organization on the international scene."
The summit participants plan to sign an agreement between the SCO countries on the creation of favorable conditions for international road transportation.
