A regular meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took place on 16 August 2007 in Bishkek.

President Nursultan Nazarbaev of the Republic of Kazakhstan, President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China, President Kurmanbek Bakiev of the Kyrgyz Republic, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Emomali Rakhmon of the Republic of Tajikistan, President Islam Karimov of the Republic of Uzbekistan were in attendance.

SCO Secretary-General Bolat Nurgaliev and Director Myrzakan Subanov of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS) participated in the meeting.

Representatives of the SCO observer states – Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Murli Deora of the Republic of India, President Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad of the Islamic Republic of Iran, President Nambaryn Enkhbayar of Mongolia, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as well as guests of honour of the host state – President Hamid Karzai of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan and UN Deputy Secretary-General Linn Pasko were in attendance and delivered statements.

In accordance with the agreement reached at the anniversary summit of the SCO Heads of State Council (15 June 2006, Shanghai) the heads of state signed the Treaty among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on good-neighbourly relations, friendship and cooperation.

The leaders of the six states signed the Bishkek Declaration and approved the Action Plan of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on ensuring international information security (IIS), which had been drafted on the basis of the Statement of Heads of SCO Member States on International Information Security dated 15 June 2006.

Plenipotentiary representatives of the member states of the Organisation signed the Agreement among the governments of the SCO member states on cooperation in the field of culture.

The heads of state were in attendance at the opening of the Third Art Festival of the SCO member states.

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In a spirit of friendship and understanding typical of the SCO, the achievements of the activity of the Organisation in the period following the previous meeting of the Heads of State Council were considered, decisions were taken aimed at further development of interaction in a wide range of areas within the SCO framework. Profound exchange of opinions on the international and regional situations took place.

The heads of state noted with satisfaction that the tasks of deepening and expanding multifaceted cooperation among the member states set during the Shanghai summit of 2006, on the whole, were being successfully fulfilled. The signing of the Treaty among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on good-neighbourly relations, friendship and cooperation with concrete agreements in various fields to follow up is the practical embodiment of a qualitatively new level of trust.

Common understanding was expressed over a growing need to develop interaction among the parliaments and supreme courts of the member states. It was deemed expedient to increase exchanges of information in the legislative field with the aim of improving the current legal base of the SCO member states.

The expansion of the Secretariat duties and giving its head – Secretary-General – the status of chief executive officer of the SCO has benefited the institutional consolidation of the Organisation. The activity of the SCO RATS is consistently intensifying, so is the role of its Council and the Executive Committee in strengthening the authority of the RATS in regional and international counterterrorism interaction.

The importance of fulfilling the Cooperation Plan of the SCO member states on combating terrorism, separatism and extremism for 2007-2009 was stressed. Common understanding was expressed over the need to step up counteraction against funding of terrorism and illegal money laundering.

The heads of state noted the effectiveness of the joint counterterrorism exercise and the significance of the agreements reached during the third meeting of Secretaries of Security Councils of the SCO member states, which took place on 25 May 2007, and the meeting of defence ministers of the SCO member states, which took place on 27 June 2007.

The heads of state accepted the invitation of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation to attend the main stage of the Peace Mission 2007 joint counterterrorism exercise among the armed forces of the SCO member states on 17 August 2007 on Russian territory.

The work of the SCO IIS Expert Group was rated positively. It was deemed expedient that the Group continue its activity.

The Plan of Activities on emergency relief interaction in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for 2007-2008 is being successfully implemented.

Exchange of views took place on ways of cooperation in tackling illegal migration and controlling flows of migrant workers within the SCO framework.

Vital significance of implementing the preventive measures against the processes and phenomena causing instability in the SCO territory was noted. The process of creating a mechanism of joint response to situations threatening peace, stability and security in the region will be expedited.

The need was underlined to further increase cooperation in fighting illegal circulation of narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors on the basis of the Agreement of 17 June 2004, to step up interaction among the competent agencies of the SCO member states. The importance of experience sharing was stressed with the aim of prevention of drug abuse, treatment of drug addiction and counteraction against drugs trafficking.

In the context of the efforts of the Organisation on strengthening stability and security, developing economic cooperation in the Central Asian region, opportunities for a wider use of the SCO potential in Afghanistan were discussed, before all, withreference to the SCO – Afghanistan Contact Group mechanism as well as other mutually acceptable formats.

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The heads of state proceed from the fact that the economic cooperation is entering into a stage of practical implementation of the relevant plans, agreements and beneficial pilot projects based on multilateral involvement in energy, transportation, telecommunications and other areas.

The SCO Business Council and Interbank Consortium are designed to play an essential role in this process. The heads of state welcomed the signing of the Agreement on cooperation between these structures.

The importance of close interaction and formulation of common approaches of the member states in energy sector was emphasised. Formation of the energy component will be conducted according to the principle of openness for all interested states and organisations that share the goals and tasks of the SCO.

Attention was drawn to the significance of joint activities on environmental protection and rational use of natural resources.

The heads of state expressed readiness to consider the possibility of backing the initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic to announce the 20th of February the Day of Social Justice during the next session of the UN General Assembly.

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The heads of state are confident that the younger generation will take over the cause of promoting friendship among the peoples of the SCO member states. In this connection they hailed the intention of youth organisations to develop contacts in the SCO framework.

The heads of state noted that the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing would have an important meaning for strengthening friendship among nations. The SCO member states will provide active assistance to the Chinese side in successful staging of the Games, including ensuring their security.

The heads of state welcomed the decision of the International Olympic Committee on selecting Sochi to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2014.

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The heads of state rated positively the development of external ties of the Organisation. A pressing need was underlined for increasing cooperation with the observer states in various fields.

Improvement of the legal framework for the external activity of the SCO will continue.

Attention was drawn to the need for a deep practical interaction of the SCO with the CIS, EurAsEC and ASEAN based on the present memoranda of understanding.

The heads of state support the development of ties between the SCO and the CSTO with the aim of coordinating the efforts on strengthening the regional and international security, counteracting new challenges and threats.

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The heads of state highly appreciated presidency of the Kyrgyz Republic at the SCO and expressed gratitude to the Kyrgyz side for hospitality during the Bishkek summit.

The next meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council will be held in 2008 in Dushanbe, the Republic of Tajikistan will hold presidency of the Organisation in the coming period accordingly.

A meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council in 2009 will be held in Yekaterinburg, the Russian Federation.