OREANDA-NEWS. June 23, 2008. A regular meeting of the Collegium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was held on June 20 under the chairmanship of Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to discuss questions pertaining to Russia’s upcoming chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2008-2009.

The Collegium has stated that active participation in SCO activities is one of the priorities of Russian foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific Region. Thanks to the systematic work of Russia and the other member states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) the SCO has established itself as a weighty element of regional and global politics and as a mechanism for assuring security and stability and promoting mutually advantageous cooperation in different fields. The formative process of the SCO, the Collegium also noted, is continuing, and special attention needs to be paid to effective use of untapped reserves for its further ongoing development.

The importance of building on joint efforts by member states on the basis of amassed experience and partner interaction potential in the interest of consolidating the Organization and of giving new quality to multifaceted cooperation was accentuated in this context.

The Collegium has defined the Ministry’s concrete tasks in the light of the Plan of Measures for Russia’s 2008-2009 SCO Chairmanship, as approved by the President of the Russian Federation.