Syrian settlement to be among central topics of SCO summit in Bishkek

The settlement of the conflict in Syria will be one of the main topics on the agenda of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held in Bishkek on September 13, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Thursday. “One of the main topics on the agenda is the settlement of the conflict in Syria,” he stressed. In addition, the Kremlin official said, the summit is expected to resolve common approaches to the situation around the Iranian nuclear program. At the same time it is planned to discuss in detail ways to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. Among the priority topics of the meeting the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries is economic interaction, in particular, the implementation of the action plan for the further development of project activities within the SCO. “Special attention is to be paid to financial issues, Russia’s proposal on the establishment of the SCO Development Fund and the Chinese initiative to form SCO Development Bank are on the agenda,” Ushakov said. Cooperation in the sphere of transport and energy is also promising. The work on the draft agreements on the creation of favourable conditions for international automobile transportation and the Memorandum of Understanding of SCO member states, as well as observer states and partners in the dialogue on the creation of the Energy Club, is nearing completion. Ushakov did not rule out that the summit participants would also raise the issue of the Organisation’s expansion. “The question of the SCO expansion is always raised, so the number of observer countries is growing,” he said. Speaking about the summit work, the Russian leader’s aide said that a narrow-format meeting would open the work in Bishkek that would focus on the current issues of multifaceted cooperation within the Organisation, as well as the situation in the region and the world. At the plenary session it is planned to exchange views on measures to intensify joint efforts to ensure stability and security in the SCO space. The summit’s guests from several international organisations, including the United Nations, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) and Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) are expected to attend the meeting. The SCO heads of state are expected to sign the Bishkek Declaration on the summit results. The declaration, in particular, reaffirms the states’ commitment to deepen all-round socioeconomic and humanitarian cooperation. On the results of the event, it is planned to approve the Action Plan for 2013-2017 to implement the provisions of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the SCO member states. It is also planned to sign a number of other documents. Tajikistan will take over rotating SCO presidency after the summit.