Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged in Beijing Tuesday the six members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to join hands to strengthen regional economic cooperation.

Wen made the appeal in his speech at the consultation of the prime ministers of SCO members, which was also attended by Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, Tajik Prime Minister Akil Akilov and Uzbek Prime Minister Utkur Sultanov.

The prime ministers discussed regional economic cooperation and SCO organization building and expressed satisfaction with results of the consultation.

In his speech, Wen said the SCO has made positive progress in improving organization mechanism, promoting pragmatic cooperation and diplomacy in recent two years.

He said the SCO Moscow summit meeting held in May this year marked the organization has entered into a new era of full development.

The major purpose of the consultation is to implement the consensus reached at the Moscow summit and further boost cooperation among SCO members on all aspects, he said.

Wen noted that economic cooperation is a major cooperative area of the SCO. The six SCO members have established mechanisms of economic and trade ministers' meeting as well as transportation ministers' meeting.

He said the six countries have started the process to facilitate trade and investment and search for concrete cooperation in economic and trade areas, which has laid down a foundation for regional economic cooperation.

He said the document on economic and trade cooperation among SCO members to be ratified at the consultation was important in guiding the six countries to carry out regional cooperation in the future.

Wen also made three proposals at the consultation.

The proposals are:

-- To promote the facilitation of trade and investment in a bid to realize the smooth circulation of goods within the framework of the SCO as well as to reduce and eliminate non-tariff barriers like those in customs service, quarantine, standards and transportation.

-- To set certain large projects on economic and technological cooperation and give priority to those in transportation, energy, telecommunication, agriculture, home appliances, light industry and textile.

-- To set a long-term objective for regional economic cooperation and gradually set up a free trade zone within the SCO.

Wen stressed that the SCO should set up an efficient and practical cooperation mechanism to ensure the implementation of various decisions.

He said enterprises should be given full play in their role in regional economic cooperation within the SCO.

He also urged the SCO to adopt an opening policy to conduct economic cooperation with countries and organizations all over the world, so as to comprehensively utilize resources outside the SCO.

As long as the SCO members join hands to strengthen regional economic cooperation, a modern "Silk Road" will be explored out for common development and prosperity of the six SCO members, the Premier said.

After the consultation, prime ministers of the SCO members signed six documents.

The six documents cover multi-lateral economic and trade cooperation among SCO members, SCO budget for the year 2004, rules and regulations on salary guarantee and allowances for staff members of the SCO permanent body, local anti-terrorism institution and personnel arrangement, technical initiation of the SCO permanent body, and a joint communique.

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