CHINA / National

President Hu meets with SCO summiteers
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-06-15 06:14

SHANGHAI: Heads of state from the six-nation Shanghai Co-operation
Organization (SCO) will meet today to chart a path for the group's
future, after President Hu Jintao yesterday hosted a series of
commemorative activities and meetings.

President Hu Jintao (first right, front) talks with Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov and Uzbek
President Islam Karimov after a tree planting ceremony marking the 5th
anniversary of the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at a
hotel in west Shanghai yesterday. [Xinhua]

The one-day SCO summit, to be held at the Shanghai International
Convention Centre, coincides with the fifth anniversary of the
organization's founding on June 15, 2001 and the 10th of its prototype
the Shanghai Five mechanism.

While meeting his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmonov yesterday
afternoon, Hu said the summit is of great significance.

"With joint efforts of each party, I believe the summit will achieve its
goal of strengthening mutual trust, promoting unity and deepening
co-operation," he said.

The regional body grouping China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is the first international organization with
its headquarters in China.

As the annual SCO summit returns to its birthplace, the six presidents
will review the organization's five-year achievements, outline objectives
for future co-operation, and exchange views on major international and
regional issues.

The summit is also expected to pass a declaration and endorse dozens of
documents that promote stronger bilateral and multilateral co-operation
in a wide range of sectors.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and leaders of four SCO observer countries
Mongolia, Iran, India and Pakistan will also be present at the summit.

Ahead of what is called a "milestone" meeting, Hu, along with his five
foreign counterparts, attended a tree-planting ceremony in the Xijiao
State Guest Hotel yesterday afternoon.

With the help of six children, they planted a white magnolia tree
Shanghai's city flower noted for its splendid blossoms in early spring
before inaugurating a monument in commemoration of the event.

Because magnolia trees can live for as long as 1,000 years, it is said
the tree signifies the vitality of the SCO.

The ceremony was such that even the shovels the top leaders used bore the
national emblem of their respective countries.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek
Bakiyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali
Rakhmonov, Uzbek President Islam Karimov and other guests were then
treated to a sightseeing boat tour of the Huangpu River, which runs
through this economic hub of China.

A dazzling fireworks display was staged during the tour, lighting up the
sky over the river and adding to the appeal of the eye-catching city.

Also yesterday afternoon, Hu held separate meetings with President
Rakhmonov of Tajikistan, President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and President
Karimov of Uzbekistan on bilateral relations and the growth of the SCO.

The Chinese president said Beijing appreciated the three central Asian
countries' firm support for China in the fight against terrorist forces
of "East Turkistan."

The Chinese side is ready to push for stronger links with the three
countries in wide-ranging fields such as economy, trade and energy, he
said.

The three presidents pledged further co-operation with China in cracking
down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism to
safeguard security and stability in the region.

Executive Secretary Vladimir Rushailo of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) and Deputy Secretary-General Wilfrido. V. Villacorta of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will attend the summit as
guests.

It was the first time that the SCO invited representatives of some
international organizations that have co-operative ties with it to its
summit.

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