Address by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Mr. Islam Karimov at the delegation-level meeting of the Council of Heads of States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

17.06.2009

On June 15-16, 2009 the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov participated at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the city of Ekaterinburg in the Russian Federation.

Below is the text of the address made by the Uzbek Leader at the delegation-level meeting of the Council of Heads of States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The text has been translated from Russian at the Information Agency “Jahon”.

* * *

Dear Heads of States!
Distinguished participants of the summit!
Ladies and Gentlemen!

Allow me to express the feelings of sincere respect to the heads of the SCO member-states present here, heads of delegations of the observer-states and heads of delegations, who are invited to this summit, express the feelings of gratitude to the President of the Russian Federation Dmitriy Anatolyevich Medvedev for the rendered hospitality and organization of our today's meeting.

I would like to support the assessments of the outcomes of the past period of the SCO activity enunciated here by heads of states. Indeed, for over this period it has been accomplished a substantial work to further expand and strengthen the fruitful cooperation in political, economic, social and humanitarian spheres, the considerable steps have been made in implementing the most important program goals and tasks faced by our Organization.

It can be said with confidence that with each year the role and significance of the SCO are seeing their rise in resolving the problems of regional and global security, counteracting the international terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking and other challenges and threats to security in the strategically important region of Central Asia.

Our today's decision on positively considering the requests of the Republic of Belarus and Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri-Lanka on rendering them the status of partners on the SCO dialogue serves as a vivid demonstration of yet more increasing authority of the SCO on the international arena, openness of the Organization, its readiness to establish the cooperation with other states.

I am convinced that the documents prepared for signing on the outcomes of this summit will become an important link on the way of implementing the tasks before the SCO.

Dear participants of the summit,

Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to very briefly touch upon particular, as we believe, the most important priorities in the SCO activity, the implementation of which will allow considerably increase the efficiency of its activity, consolidate security and provide for fuller use of the potential of the states of the region.

It is an open secret that the war, which has already been going on for 30 years in Afghanistan, remains to be the main source of threats to security, where, unfortunately, there is still a tendency towards worsening of tension and confrontation. And one doesn't have to speak about security and stability in the entire Central Asian region without resolving this problem.

At the moment, the very fact is becoming more obvious, and this is agreed by the absolute majority of countries involved in the conflict, that it is impossible to resolve the Afghan problem with military way.

Without addressing such acute problems as reconstruction of economy, communications and social infrastructure of Afghanistan destroyed by war, without getting the Afghans themselves involved to this process, without securing the inner consensus and strengthening the vertical of power one cannot positively change the situation in the country.

It is extremely important to show full respect to the deep historical and ethnic-demographical roots of the multinational people of Afghanistan, to all confessions, traditional values of the religion of Islam, and secure on such basis and on the basis of dialogue the necessary consensus inside Afghanistan.

We are still convinced that the establishment of the “6+3” Contact Group under UN auspices comprising of authorized representatives of states directly neighboring on Afghanistan and plus the representatives of Russia, United States and NATO as an important consultative-diplomatic body, on the basis of which it could be able to reach accord both inside and around Afghanistan, might serve for the soonest solution of the Afghan problem.

--- “ ---

I would like to fully join the views expressed here that given the worsening situation in the economy, growing problems in terms of the global financial and economic crisis, at the focus of our attention there should be the issues on strengthening the coordination of the joint activity of the SCO states related to addressing the crisis and mitigating its negative consequences.

The state of affairs with regard to implementing the regional and national anti-crisis programs, enormous expenditures made for over the past period that the global crisis continued and developed, and firstly, in the developed nations of the world, do not yet guarantee the stabilization of the global financial market, growth in demand and revitalization of economic activeness in the sphere of production.

And what is more important, despite all measures being undertaken in terms of tapping the crisis, unfortunately, some scenarios and ways of addressing the crisis are not being observed.

The acute fall in demand and prices has inflicted a serious damage to the economies of the countries of the Central Asian region, which up to now had played a role of suppliers of raw and semi-finished products to the world markets.

The situation gets worsened yet by the fact that many largest countries lead the policy of protectionism and limiting access of goods from developing countries into their markets in spite of all public assurances on non-admissibility of such restrictions in trade.

Such policy may lead to isolationism, process of deglobalization of economies, as well as to a turn-back from those trends and directions that have been elaborated for over the past decades, and inflicts a serious damage, firstly, to the interests of developing nations.

We believe that the most important unaddressed issue on the way of tackling the crisis is a pendency of issues and lack of mechanisms of control and regulation of financial, currency and stock markets and without addressing this task the unpredictability of further flow of the crisis in the world market will remain.

In the unfolding current situation it acquires an enormous significance the quality betterment and consolidation of economic, above all, of the investment component in the SCO framework, adoption of necessary legal documents, which would lift the barriers on the way of trade and economic cooperation and direct ties between businesses, implementing the projects of the fuel and energy complex, transport-communication and agro-industrial spheres.

Maintaining the coordination of our efforts in these spheres, rendering a concrete assistance to the countries that experience the acute need in credits and investments now acquires a critical importance.

The last issues that I deem it expedient to touch upon are those of increasing the role of the SCO on the international arena, considerably enhancing the work with observer countries and dialogue partner countries, strengthening the interaction and involving their enormous potential to the sphere of joint activity in the SCO framework.

Noting the open nature of the SCO it is underscored in the Article 13 of the Charter that the Organization is open for accepting for its membership other states of the region, which commit themselves to follow the goals and principles of the Charter, as well as provisions of other international treaties and documents adopted by the SCO.

In 2004 the Provisions on the status of observer at the SCO and in 2006 the procedure of interaction of the SCO with observers were adopted.

Introduction of this institution, without any doubt, became an important link on the way of implementing the goals and tasks faced by the SCO, promoted the consolidation of the potential of the SCO, significantly expanded the capabilities of the Organization and considerably influenced its role and authority in the world community.

It is expedient for us, following the logics of onward and consistent steps of the SCO along this path, to start preparing the necessary legal documents that define the prospects and procedure of accepting observer countries for a full-fledged membership of the SCO.

We all realize that to what extent this issue is complex, but in any way some time it should be resolved.

Dear participants of the summit!

I am convinced that the results of the frank exchange of views that took place on the urgent problems for us and the decisions adopted today at the summit will serve as another step aimed at ensuring security and sustainable development of the SCO countries.