SCO - what is it? Decoding, definition, translation

Abbreviation SCO stands for Sh Anhai ABOUT organization WITH cooperation.

This shaky structure, based in 2001 year in Shanghai, is a political-economic bloc, which, in addition to China and Russia, includes several republics former USSR, and even those not fully and without much desire. The essence of the SCO is the concept of “Guys, let’s live together”, not to cause incidents on the borders, to reduce border weapons and, in general, to trade, cooperate in every possible way and at the same time look askance at NATO. In 2015, India and Pakistan joined the SCO, having still not resolved the territorial dispute over Kashmir.

List of countries that are members of the SCO for 2015: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan.

Mongolia, Belarus, Iran and Afghanistan are observers.

SCO is in the list:

Did you find out where the word came from? SCO, his explanation in simple words, translation, origin and meaning.

Shanghai organization Cooperation (SCO) is a regional international organization founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. With the exception of Uzbekistan, the rest of the countries were members of the Shanghai Five, founded as a result of the signing in 1996-1997. between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia and Tajikistan agreements on confidence-building in the military field and on mutual reduction armed forces in the border area. After the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the participants renamed the organization.

The total territory of the SCO countries is 30 million km², that is, 60% of the territory of Eurasia. Its total demographic potential is a quarter of the planet’s population (the total population of the countries participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: 1 billion 455 million people), and if we take into account the population of India and other observer countries, then the number of residents of countries directly related to The SCO will be slightly smaller than the entire world population, and the economic potential includes the most powerful Chinese economy after the United States.

One of the features of the SCO is that, in terms of status, it is neither a military bloc, like NATO, nor an open regular security meeting, like the ASEAN ARF, occupying an intermediate position. The main objectives of the organization are to strengthen stability and security in a wide area uniting member states, combat terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, development economic cooperation, energy partnership, scientific and cultural interaction.

Article 15 of the Charter determines the legal capacity of the organization. SCO as a subject international law has international legal capacity. It enjoys in the territory of each Member State such legal capacity as is necessary for the implementation of its goals and objectives.

The SCO enjoys the rights legal entity and may, in particular:

• - conclude contracts;
• - acquire movable and real estate and dispose of it;
• - act in courts as a plaintiff or defendant;
• - open accounts and make transactions with funds.

Decisions in the SCO bodies are made by agreement without voting and are considered adopted if none of the member states objected to them during the approval process (consensus), with the exception of decisions on suspension of membership or expulsion from the Organization, which are made on the basis of the “consensus” principle minus one vote of the Member State concerned."

Any member state can express its point of view on certain aspects and/or specific issues of decisions taken, which is not an obstacle to making a decision as a whole. This point of view is recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

In cases of disinterest of one or more Member States in the implementation of certain cooperation projects of interest to other Member States, the non-participation in them of these Member States does not prevent the implementation of such cooperation projects by interested Member States and, at the same time, does not prevent the said States -members to join in the implementation of such projects in the future.

Decisions of SCO bodies are executed by member states in accordance with procedures determined by their national legislation (Article 17 of the Charter).

Monitoring the fulfillment of the obligations of member states to implement the Charter, other treaties in force within the SCO and decisions of its bodies is carried out by SCO bodies within the limits of their competence.

Member States, in accordance with their internal rules and procedures appoint their permanent representatives to the SCO Secretariat, who are part of the diplomatic staff of the embassies of the member states in Beijing.

The SCO and its officials enjoy privileges and immunities in the territories of all member states that are necessary to perform the functions and achieve the goals of the Organization.

Scope of privileges and immunities of the SCO and its officials determined by a separate international treaty.

The official and working languages ​​of the SCO are Russian and Chinese.

To fulfill the goals and objectives of the SCO Charter, the following are in place within the Organization:

• · Council of Heads of State;
• · Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers);
• · Council of Foreign Ministers;
• · Meetings of heads of ministries and/or departments;
• · Council of National Coordinators;
• · Regional anti-terrorist structure;
• · Secretariat.

The functions and operating procedures of the SCO bodies, with the exception of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure, are determined by the relevant provisions, which are approved by the Council of Heads of State.

The Council of Heads of State may decide to create other SCO bodies. The creation of new bodies is formalized in the form of additional protocols, which come into force in the manner prescribed by Article 21 of the Charter.

The Council of Heads of State is the highest body of the SCO. It determines priorities and develops the main directions of the Organization’s activities, resolves fundamental issues of its internal structure and functioning, interaction with other states and international organizations, and also considers the most pressing international problems.

The Council meets for regular meetings once a year. The chairmanship at a meeting of the Council of Heads of State is carried out by the head of state - the organizer of the next meeting. The location of the next meeting of the Council is determined, as a rule, in the order of the Russian alphabet of the names of the SCO member states.

The Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) adopts the Organization's budget, considers and resolves major issues related to specific, especially economic, areas of development of interaction within the Organization.

The Council meets for regular meetings once a year. The Council meeting is chaired by the head of government (Prime Minister) of the state in whose territory the meeting is being held.

The location of the next meeting of the Council is determined by prior agreement of the heads of government (prime ministers) of the member states.

The Council of Foreign Ministers considers issues of the current activities of the Organization, preparation for a meeting of the Council of Heads of State and consultations within the Organization on international problems. The Council may, if necessary, make statements on behalf of the SCO.

The Council usually meets one month before the meeting of the Council of Heads of State. Extraordinary meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers are convened on the initiative of at least two member states and with the consent of the foreign ministers of all other member states. The location of the regular and extraordinary meetings of the Council is determined by mutual agreement.

The Council is presided over by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the member state of the Organization on whose territory the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State is held, for the period starting from the date of completion of the last regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State and ending with the date of the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State.

The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, when carrying out external contacts, represents the Organization in accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for the work of the Council.

In accordance with decisions of the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers), heads of line ministries and/or departments of member states regularly hold meetings to consider specific issues of developing interaction in relevant areas within the SCO.

The chairmanship is carried out by the head of the relevant ministry and/or department of the state organizing the meeting. The place and time of the meeting are agreed upon in advance.

To prepare and conduct meetings, by prior agreement of the member states, working groups of experts can be created on a permanent or temporary basis, which carry out their activities in accordance with the work regulations approved at meetings of heads of ministries and/or departments. These groups are formed from representatives of ministries and/or departments of member states.

The Council of National Coordinators is the SCO body that coordinates and manages the current activities of the Organization. It carries out the necessary preparations for meetings of the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) and the Council of Foreign Ministers. National focal points are appointed by each Member State in accordance with its internal rules and procedures.

The Council meets at least three times a year. The Council is presided over by the national coordinator of the member state of the Organization, on whose territory the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State will be held, for the period starting from the date of completion of the last regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State and ending with the date of the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State.

The Chairman of the Council of National Coordinators, on behalf of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, may represent the Organization in carrying out external contacts in accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for the work of the Council of National Coordinators.

The regional anti-terrorist structure of the member states of the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism of June 15, 2001, located in the city of Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan), is a permanent body of the SCO.

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is a permanent body of the SCO with headquarters in Tashkent, designed to facilitate coordination and interaction between the competent authorities of the parties in the fight against terrorism, extremism and separatism. It has the status of a legal entity and the right to enter into contracts, acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property, open and maintain bank accounts, initiate lawsuits in courts and participate in legal proceedings. These rights are exercised on behalf of RATS by the Director of the RATS Executive Committee. The main functions of this body are to coordinate the efforts of all SCO member states in the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism - development of proposals to combat terrorism, collection and analysis of information, formation of a data bank on individuals and organizations providing support to criminals, assistance in training and carrying out operational search and other activities to combat these phenomena, maintaining contacts with international organizations. RATS consists of a Council and an Executive Committee (a permanent body). The Council, which includes the heads of the competent authorities of the countries of the Organization, represents governing body decision maker. The Chairman of the RATS Executive Committee is appointed by the Council of Heads of State.

The Secretariat is the main permanent executive body of the SCO and carries out coordination, information and analytical, legal, organizational and technical support for the activities of the Organization, develops proposals for the development of cooperation within the SCO and international relations of the Organization, and monitors the implementation of decisions of SCO bodies.

The Secretariat is headed Secretary General, which is approved by the Council of Heads of State on the proposal of the Council of Foreign Ministers.

The Secretary General is appointed from among the citizens of the member states on a rotational basis in order of the Russian alphabet of the names of the member states for a period of three years without the right of extension for the next term. From January 1, 2010 - representative of Kyrgyzstan M.S. Imanaliev.

Deputies Secretary General approved by the Council of Foreign Ministers on the proposal of the Council of National Coordinators. They cannot be representatives of the state from which the Executive Secretary is appointed.

Officials of the Secretariat are recruited from among citizens of Member States on a quota basis.

In the performance of official duties, the Secretary General, his deputies and other officials of the Secretariat shall not seek or receive instructions from any Member State and/or government, organization or individual. They must refrain from any actions that could affect their position as international officials responsible only to the SCO.

Member States undertake to respect the international nature of the duties of the Secretary General, his deputies and the staff of the Secretariat and not to influence them in the performance of their official duties.

The location of the SCO Secretariat is Beijing (People's Republic of China).

Until 2006, there was no post of Secretary General; instead, there was the institution of an executive secretary, who formally could only act on behalf of the SCO Secretariat. There is an opinion that it is necessary to restructure the SCO Secretariat into a more independent executive body, due to its lack of this moment sufficient rights and funding. While in the UN, NATO, CSTO and other organizations the executive bodies are relatively independent and, therefore, are able to develop the agenda of their organizations themselves, come up with initiatives and even promote the adoption of their initiative proposals by the leadership of member states, the SCO Secretariat does not really lead organizational work, which, in fact, is carried out by the Council of National Coordinators. As a result, Secretariat staff must coordinate any question with the national coordinator of the country that sent it, and he with the national coordinators of other countries. This does not contribute to the creation of institutional ethics in the Secretariat. It turns out that, in essence, the SCO Secretariat is not an independent body international organization, but a team consisting of national representatives.

The SCO has its own budget, which is formed and executed in accordance with a special Agreement between the member states. This Agreement also determines the amount of contributions that Member States make annually to the Organization's budget on a cost-sharing basis.

Budget funds are used to finance permanent SCO bodies in accordance with the above-mentioned Agreement. Member states independently bear the costs associated with the participation of their representatives and experts in the activities of the Organization.

Decisions in the SCO bodies are made by consensus. The operating procedures of all bodies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were finally developed and adopted in 2003, at the Moscow summit. The main structures of the organization began work in January 2004, after which this association functions as a full-fledged international organization.

Thus, at the time of writing the work, the members of the organization are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.

Observer states - India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan.

Dialogue partners - Belarus, Sri Lanka.

Those who received invitations to the summits of the heads of state of the SCO - Afghanistan, CIS, ASEAN, UN, EurAsEC, USA.

The predecessor of the SCO was the “Shanghai Five” formed in 1996, uniting Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and designed to promote confidence in the military field between the participating countries and the mutual reduction of armed forces in the border area. After the sixth member, Uzbekistan, joined the ranks of the five in 2001, the newly formed “Shanghai Six” was renamed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The renewed organization has opened up new areas of activity, and to date the SCO has turned into an organization of multidisciplinary, multi-format cooperation, whose potential and significance in the international arena is growing every year. The fight against terrorism, separatism, extremism, cross-border crime and drug trafficking remains a priority for the SCO.

The growing authority of the SCO confirms the desire of more and more countries to join the organization. In 2004, Mongolia received observer status at the SCO. In 2005, the same status was assigned to a number of eastern countries: India, Iran, Pakistan. On April 28, 2010, another link connecting East and West in the SCO was Belarus, which was admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a dialogue partner. Sri Lanka received the same status. Now the SCO occupies 60 percent of the territory of Eurasia. An organization that uses such territorial, human and economic resources is doomed to authority and influence.

SCO bodies

The highest decision-making body in the SCO is the Council of Heads of Member States, which meets annually. The Council of Heads of Member States determines priorities and develops the main directions of the Organization's activities. Countries preside over the Organization alternately, on an annual basis, ending their term of office with a summit. In 2010-2011, Kazakhstan presided over the SCO. Since January 1, 2010, the post of SCO Secretary General has been occupied by Muratbek Imanaliev (Kyrgyzstan).

The Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) adopts the Organization's budget, considers and resolves major economic issues in the areas of developing interaction within the Organization.

The Council of Foreign Ministers considers issues of the current activities of the Organization, holding consultations within the Organization on international issues. If necessary, the Council may make statements on behalf of the SCO.

To consider specific issues of developing interaction within the SCO, meetings of heads of ministries and/or departments are held. Meetings are held in accordance with decisions of the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers).

The coordination and management of the current activities of the organization is carried out by the Council of National Coordinators.

A permanent body of the SCO is the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the States Parties to the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism of June 15, 2001.

The permanent administrative body of the SCO is the SCO Secretariat. The Secretariat is engaged in organizational and technical support for events held within the SCO, and prepares proposals for the annual budget of the Organization.

Working structures of the SCO

The main working structures of the SCO are the SCO Business Council, the SCO Interbank Association (IBO), the SCO Forum and the SCO Youth Council.

The Business Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established on June 14, 2006 in Shanghai. The SCO Business Council is a non-governmental structure. It brings together the most authoritative representatives of the business community of the SCO member countries. The main goal of the Business Council is to expand economic cooperation within the Organization, establish direct connections and dialogue between the business and financial circles of the SCO member states.

The SCO Interbank Association was created in 2005. The IBO members included the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, the State Development Bank of China, Vnesheconombank of Russia, the National Bank of Tajikistan, and the National Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Uzbekistan. On June 14, 2006 in Shanghai, during the second meeting of the SCO IBO Council, the Savings and Accounts Company of Kyrgyzstan also became a member of the association.

The purpose of the SCO Forum is scientific support for the activities of the SCO, development of interaction between research and political science centers of the SCO member states. The SCO Forum is engaged in conducting joint research on topical issues of the Organization’s terms of reference, explaining the tasks and principles of the SCO’s activities, expanding its relations with scientific and public circles, etc.

The main task of the SCO Youth Council is “cooperation and exchange of experience among representatives of the younger generation of the SCO countries in various areas of young personality development, which could ensure the fundamental continuity of the SCO policy and contribute to the implementation of its historical mission.”

Belarus is a partner of the SCO

For Belarus, dialogue with the SCO is an opportunity to join interregional cooperation projects, taking into account the advantageous transit position between East and West. For the SCO, Belarus is an access to the European platform, strengthening ties between East and West. The Memorandum providing for the granting of dialogue partner status to Belarus stipulates a number of mutually beneficial areas for cooperation. Among them are the creation of favorable conditions for trade and investment, increased interaction in customs matters, partnership in matters of regional and global security, and the development of dialogue on foreign policy issues.

Back in December 2005, Belarus submitted an application to join the SCO as an observer country. But due to the decision of the participating countries not to increase the number of observer countries in the near future, the application to Belarus was considered. In 2009, the Belarusian application for dialogue partner status was approved. The practice of interaction with partner countries in the SCO has not yet been developed, but most participating countries are inclined to believe that there will not be much difference in the status of observer and dialogue partner.

What is the SCO?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organization.

The main goals of the SCO include: strengthening mutual trust and good neighborliness between member states; promoting their effective cooperation in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural areas, as well as in the field of education, energy, transport, tourism, defense environment and others; jointly ensuring and maintaining peace, security and stability in the region; progress towards the creation of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.

In relations within the organization, the SCO member states adhere to the idea of ​​the “Shanghai spirit” and the principles of consensus and mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, equality, mutual consultation, respect for the diversity of cultures and the desire for common development; and in external relations - the principles of openness, non-affiliation with blocs and non-direction against third countries.

History of the creation of the SCO

The establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was announced on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai (PRC) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Prior to this, all of these countries, with the exception of Uzbekistan, were members of the “Shanghai Five” - a political association based on the Agreement on Strengthening Confidence in the Military Field in the Border Area (Shanghai, 1996) and the Agreement on the Mutual Reduction of Armed Forces in the Border Area (Moscow, 1997) . These two documents laid down a mechanism of mutual trust in the military field in border areas and contributed to the establishment of truly partnership relations. After the inclusion of Uzbekistan in the organization (2001), the “five” became the “six” and was renamed the SCO.

The tasks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization initially lay in the sphere of mutual intraregional actions to suppress terrorist acts, separatism and extremism in Central Asia. In June 2002, at the St. Petersburg summit of the heads of state of the SCO, the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was signed, which came into force on September 19, 2003. This is basic statutory document, fixing the goals and principles of the organization, its structure and main areas of activity. In addition, in 2006, SCO plans were announced to combat the international drug mafia as the financial support of terrorism in the world, and in 2008 - active participation in normalizing the situation in Afghanistan.

In parallel, the activities of the SCO have also acquired a broad economic focus. In September 2003, the heads of government of the SCO member states signed the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation, designed for 20 years. The long-term goal is to create a free trade zone in the SCO space, and in the short term to intensify the process of creating favorable conditions in the field of trade and investment.

Which countries take part in the SCO?

Currently, six countries are full members of the SCO - Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; Five countries - Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan - have observer status in the SCO, and three - Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka - are dialogue partners.

How many council meetingsheads of state of the SCO has it already been done?

A total of 14 meetings of the Council of Heads of SCO Member States took place:

In 2015, the 15th meeting of the Council of Heads of SCO Member States will be held in Ufa (Russian Federation).

How is the SCO work process organized?

The highest decision-making body in the SCO is the Council of Heads of State (CHS). It meets once a year and makes decisions on all important issues.

The SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meets once a year to discuss the strategy of multilateral cooperation and priority areas of development, resolve fundamental and pressing issues of economic and other cooperation, and also approves the annual budget of the organization.

In addition to the meetings of the CHS and the CST, there is a mechanism of meetings at the level of heads of parliaments, law enforcement agencies, supreme and arbitration courts, secretaries of security councils, prosecutors general, as well as ministers of foreign affairs, defense, emergency situations, economy, transport, culture, education and health care.

The coordination mechanism within the SCO is the SCO Council of National Coordinators (SNC).

The organization has two permanent bodies - the Secretariat in Beijing (PRC) and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure in Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan).

The Secretary General and the Director of the Executive Committee are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a period of three years. Since January 1, 2013, these posts have been occupied by Dmitry Fedorovich Mezentsev (Russian Federation) and Zhang Xinfeng (People's Republic of China), respectively.

Russian and Chinese are recognized as the official working languages ​​of the SCO.

What is RATS SCO?

The Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) is a permanent body. The headquarters of the organization is located in the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan - the city of Tashkent.

The SCO RATS Executive Committee in its activities is guided by the provisions of the SCO Charter, the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, the Agreement between the SCO member states on the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure, as well as other documents and decisions adopted within the SCO.

What is the SCO Business Council?

The Business Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO BC) was established on June 14, 2006 in Shanghai (China) and is a non-governmental structure that brings together the most authoritative representatives of the business community of the SCO member states with the aim of expanding economic cooperation, establishing direct connections and dialogue between business and financial circles, promoting the practical promotion of multilateral projects. Among the priority areas of interstate cooperation, along with energy, transport, telecommunications, credit and banking, the council highlights the interaction of the SCO countries in the field of education, science and innovative technologies, health and agriculture.

The SCO BC is an independent structure capable of making advisory decisions and giving expert assessments on promising areas for connecting representatives of the business community of the SCO member states to trade, economic and investment interaction within the organization.

The highest body of the SCO Business Council is the annual session, which determines priorities and develops the main directions of its activities, and resolves the most important issues of relations with business associations of other states.

The permanent Secretariat of the SCO DS is located in Moscow.

What is the SCO Interbank Association?

The SCO Interbank Association (SCO IBA) was created by a decision of the Council of Heads of Government on October 26, 2005 with the aim of organizing a financing mechanism and banking services investment projects supported by the governments of the SCO member states. A meeting of the SCO IBO is held with the general consent of the parties as necessary, but at least once a year. The chairmanship of the council is carried out on the principle of rotation.

The members of the SCO IBO include: Development Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, State Development Bank of the People's Republic of China, Settlement and Savings Company of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan OJSC RSK Bank, Vnesheconombank Russian Federation, State Savings Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan “Amonatbonk” and the National Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The priority areas of cooperation within the framework of the SCO IBO are: providing financing for the implementation of projects with an emphasis on infrastructure construction, basic industries, high-tech industries, export-oriented sectors of the economy, socially significant projects; provision and attraction of loans taking into account generally accepted international banking practices; organization of pre-export financing in order to stimulate trade and economic relations between the SCO member states and other areas of common interest.

Host photo agency

The host photo agency carries out official photography of all chairmanship events open to the media. Photo materials are posted online in a special section of the official website of the Russian Federation's presidency of the SCO and can be used by media representatives.

The next fifteenth summit of the heads of state of the SCO members is taking place these days in Tashkent under the auspices of expanding the boundaries of the organization. India and Pakistan announced their intention to become members of the SCO in 2014.

The procedure for admitting states to membership in the organization, which began last year, will continue on Friday, June 24, when the presidents of the Six, with the participation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, will adopt memorandums of commitment of India and Pakistan for admission to the SCO. And although de facto states are already recognized as members, de jure the admission procedure will end with India and Pakistan joining all documents adopted within the SCO.

It should be noted that Uzbekistan is chairing the organization for the third time. Previously, we were awarded this honorable mission in 2004 and 2010.

We analyzed the activities of the organization in historical retrospect and the main documents adopted within the SCO in various areas. We present the results to your attention.

Background and documents

Modern format of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) formed on the basis of the Shanghai Five, which since 1996 has united Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia and Tajikistan. The historical starting point of the SCO was the accession of Uzbekistan to the five participating countries in 2001. The final legal formalization of the newly formed international organization took place in June 2002 with the signing of the heads of state - members of the SCO and the SCO - basic statutory documents.

Listed policy documents consolidated the principles, main goals and objectives of the organization, as well as its organizational structure and powers of authorities. With their adoption, the organization received a qualitatively new vector of development.

The priority tasks of the organization are strengthening stability and security in the region uniting the participating states, the fight against terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, and the development of economic cooperation.

An important role in the further development of the organization was played by such documents as Treaty on long-term good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation of the SCO member states- the final document of the summit of heads of state, which took place in Bishkek in 2007, and Declaration on Building a Region of Lasting Peace and Shared Prosperity, adopted by the leaders of the SCO countries in 2012.

Several numbers

The SCO today is:

6 participating countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and 2 countries in the process of admission to the participants: India and Pakistan;

4 observer states: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia;

6 dialogue partners: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, Sri Lanka;

3 countries that have applied to participate in the SCO as an observer state: Bangladesh, Syria and Egypt.

The total territory of the SCO countries is more than 34 million square meters. km, that is, 60% of the territory of Eurasia. The total population of the SCO countries is over 3.5 billion people, that is, half the world's population.

Areas of interstate interaction

Active cooperation between SCO countries in the field of security consists in developing and signing a number of documents of international importance. Among them Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism 1, which consolidates and develops the principles of the main international treaties in the field of ensuring security and combating international crime adopted in particular by the UN General Assembly.

The main emphasis of the Shanghai Convention is on creating effective mechanisms to suppress criminal activities, especially those that pose a threat to the security of the region. We are talking, among other things, about the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure created in pursuance of the main provisions of the convention. (RATS SCO). Her legal status determined between member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization dated June 7, 2002

The activities of the SCO RATS Executive Committee are carried out in the following main areas:

coordination and interaction of the competent authorities of the participating countries in the fight against terrorism, extremism, conducting anti-terrorism exercises, etc.;

preparation of international documents on the fight against terrorism, including within the UN, assistance to the UN Security Council and other international structures;

formation and replenishment of the SCO RATS data bank, collection and analysis of information on the fight against terrorism and other types of international crime.

Subsequently, with the active participation of the SCO RATS, a number of important international documents were signed, including, for example:

Agreement between the SCO member states on cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors (Tashkent, 06/17/2004);

Agreement on cooperation in the field of identifying and blocking channels of penetration into the territory of SCO member states of persons involved in terrorist, separatist and extremist activities (Shanghai, 06/15/2006);

SCO Convention against Terrorism (Ekaterinburg, June 16, 2009) and others.

WITH full text These documents can be found in the section “ International relationships» information retrieval system «Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan ».

Within the SCO, no less attention is paid to the development of partnerships in economic sphere. The steps taken in this direction are aimed primarily at expanding and strengthening trade and economic cooperation and creating a favorable investment climate within the organization.

Accepted documents, in particular Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation Program (2003) And Action Plan for Cooperation Development (2004), the main directions of economic interaction between the participating countries are fixed: energy, transport, Agriculture, telecommunications.

The documents provide for the long-term (until 2020) creation of a free trade zone within the SCO.

To achieve the goals set in the economic sphere, special structures have been created and are functioning within the SCO. For example, the Interbank Association provides active assistance in the implementation of accepted economic projects (IBO), which was formed at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in 2005. The IBO also includes the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan.

In addition, the SCO has formalized partnership agreements with such international economic organizations like Eurasian economic union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The areas of interaction between the SCO member states are regularly expanding. Today, the activities of the SCO are no longer limited to security and economic issues. Integration processes in the fields of education, science and technology are also developing.

These goals are served, among other things, by the SCO University, which so far operates as a network of already existing universities in the SCO member states and observer countries. Training of highly qualified personnel at the SCO University is carried out according to priority areas cultural, scientific, educational and economic cooperation of the countries participating in the organization: regional studies, ecology, energy, IT technologies, nanotechnologies.

Prospects

According to materials from the SCO central Internet portal, more than ten documents are planned to be signed during the anniversary summit. Along with the issues of improving the activities of the SCO and developing cooperation in priority areas, such as security, anti-terrorism, economics and humanitarian ties, an intergovernmental agreement on international transport through the Asian network will be agreed upon. highways and an interdepartmental agreement on mutual recognition of customs controls in relation to certain types of goods.

During the negotiations, the heads of state will pay special attention to key global and regional problems, including the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Oleg ZAMANOV, our expert.