SCO vows to tackle financial crisis

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Prime Ministers of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations on Wednesday promised closer cooperation in overcoming the global financial crisis.

The six nations had "reached important consensus in deepening cooperation and jointly tackling the economic downturn" within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at a summit of the security-focussed group.

Wednesday’s meeting "provided a sound platform for various countries to conduct exchanges and decide on specific measures" for tackling the financial crisis, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wen as saying.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan attended the summit at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the six premiers also planned to discuss Afghanistan and "further strengthen the determination to jointly fight against terrorism."

"Following the meeting, the prime ministers will issue a joint communique, approve several resolutions on the organization’s internal affairs like finance and witness the signing of a customs cooperation protocol," Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya told reporters last week.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in 2001 to enhance security cooperation between its six member states.