Chinese president attends SCO summit in Tashkent

Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) poses for a group photo with leaders of other Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) member states while attending a summit of the SCO in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, June 11, 2010. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
Chinese President Hu Jintao and leaders of other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states met in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent Friday to work out strategies to meet the security and economic challenges facing the region.

At the annual summit, the leaders will exchange views on the world and regional situation, coordinate strategies for combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, and discuss how to deepen economic cooperation and boost development in the region.

President Hu is expected to deliver an important speech at the meeting, calling for deepening pragmatic cooperation among SCO members and safeguarding peace and stability in the region, according to Chinese diplomats.

The theme of the summit is "to strengthen unity and cooperation, maintain stability and pursue common development in the region," said Cheng Guoping, assistant foreign minister of China, at a press conference last week.

He said the Tashkent summit aimed to promote good-neighborly friendship and cooperation, further strengthen political mutual trust, and deepen cooperation in security, the economy, culture and other fields between member states.

The leaders were expected to approve a draft document on the terms for admitting new members to the organization, he said.

The draft document was submitted for approval by SCO foreign ministers, who met last month in Tashkent in preparation for the summit.

Source:Xinhua
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