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President Vladimir Putin: Russia is entirely satisfied with the results of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State that has taken place today.

The decisions we have adopted aim at expanding our cooperation in all areas and in our common interests in accordance with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation [SCO] Charter.

Though it is still a young organisation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has already proven itself a lasting and viable body that is gaining authority as an important regional international organisation. I think we could say that this is the main political result of the work carried out within the organisation over the last year.

The Declaration we adopted following our meeting is of great international significance. It sets out our coordinated policy and views with regard to the situation in the world. These policies and views are based on a common vision of what we should respect and protect. The Declaration reflects our understanding of the diversity of civilisation and development models and makes a call not to impose models and standards through force or the threat to use force.

In my view, the guidelines the Declaration maps out for our organisation are correct and reflect the demands of today’s situation. Among these demands, the question of ensuring stability and security in Central Asia and throughout the region covered by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation remains a priority given the rapidly changing situation in this part of the world.

We have confirmed once again that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation works on a comprehensive basis, uniting the efforts of each of its member states. It was this approach that formed the foundation for the work on drafting the Conception for Cooperation among the SCO Member States in the Fight Against Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, which we have now approved. Implementation of this concept will enable us to establish the conditions for more precise and targeted work by the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.

At the same time, I want to emphasise that this reinforced cooperation between the SCO member states does not mean that the organisation is becoming more closed off. On the contrary, the decision to accept India, Pakistan and Iran as observers is convincing proof of the SCO’s openness. Russia welcomes these countries joining the work of our organisation as observers.

We rate positively the economic cooperation between the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s members, both overall and in separate areas. Our aim is for the Council of Heads of Government to become a real headquarters for economic and humanitarian cooperation.

We are pleased to see that non-governmental, business and financial circles have also begun to pay more attention to economic and humanitarian cooperation. The Business Council and the Development Fund should become a good additional resource for our economic cooperation and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Forum that is in the process of formation should be of valuable help in providing scientific and analytical support for our activities.

The results of our meeting show that our organisation has great potential and opportunities that will, without any doubt, bring real and visible benefits for our countries and our peoples in the very near future.

Thank you very much.