On Syria, the member states expressed their grave concern and advocated that the region should achieve peace, stability, prosperity and progress without external interference, especially military intervention unauthorized by the UN Security Council. The SCO voiced support for putting Syria's chemical weapons under the supervision of the international community and destroying them step by step and called upon the relevant parties to adopt a responsible attitude and to refrain from any actions that might escalate the crisis.
The organization will also promote pragmatic cooperation and seek common development of the regional economy. The SCO member states are in a critical period of economic development and are committed to achieving economic modernization. With global economic growth sluggish and the fallout from the international financial crisis still being felt, it is of great importance for the member states to accelerate their economic cooperation and increase their interconnectedness by accelerating the construction of transportation, energy and telecommunications networks.
The SCO heads of state agreed to explore a trade and investment facilitation agreement to promote economic and financial cooperation, and to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in infrastructure construction and the development of transport and information networks.
The SCO heads of state unanimously agreed to Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal to vigorously expand pragmatic cooperation within the SCO framework. Xi called on all members to carry forward the Silk Road Spirit and sign an agreement to build transport corridors connecting the Baltic Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and linking Central Asia with the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. He suggested strengthening financial, energy and food security cooperation by establishing an SCO development bank and an energy club and putting in place a cooperation mechanism for food security.
Increasing people-to-people communication can help build strong public support for the SCO's future development, and the leaders also unanimously agreed to promote cooperation to enhance their good-neighborliness and friendliness and promote dialogue among different civilizations. Xi announced China would provide 30,000 government scholarships to SCO member states and to invite 10,000 teachers and students from these countries' Confucius Institutes to visit China on study tours over the next 10 years.
The SCO is characterized by the Shanghai Spirit, whose essence is mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and seeking common development, and Xi called on the SCO members to carry forward the Shanghai Spirit and be a constructive participant in world affairs.
The author is director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.
(China Daily 09/18/2013 page8)
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