SCO needs new development strategy - Kazakh president

ASTANA. July 4 (Interfax) - The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) needs to adopt a new development strategy, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

"The SCO has confidently embarked on its new transformation today, which opens up even broader opportunities. Our work can no longer be based on outdated approaches at the new stage," Tokayev said at an SCO summit on Tuesday.

"I believe it's time to adopt a new SCO development strategy," he said.

Kazakhstan worked out a draft of this document and plans to present it during its upcoming presidency of the organization, he said.

"A new strategy should expand the SCO agenda as concerns the most promising avenues of our interaction. The continued enhancement of the organization's activities will become an important step toward properly responding to new challenges and adapting the SCO to new realities. I propose adopting a strategy for bolstering the SCO's potential by the next summit in Astana, properly accounting for Kazakhstan's proposals aimed at attaining precisely these goals," he said.

Tokayev also called on the SCO member states "to distance themselves from bilateral problems" and concentrate all efforts on implementing the existing agreements.

"The SCO should continue to be identified precisely with mutual understanding and cooperation in the name of long-term interests of our peoples," he said.