SCO to focus on ways to stabilize Afghanistan
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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will seek to boost trade relations with Beijing next week and also discuss international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan with leaders from China and other Central Asian nations.
Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Guangya on Friday confirmed that Putin will visit Beijing Monday through Wednesday.
After Putin's talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao, a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) regional summit at the premier's level will review international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, Wang said.
"The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is adjacent to Afghanistan, so we want to see peace and stability in this country," Wang said. He did not specify plans or proposals up for discussion.
Group leaders have said the SCO should play a stronger role in stabilizing Afghanistan because the threat of drugs and terrorism on SCO countries' doorstep gives them a vital stake in the matter.
Leaders from Afghanistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India will take part as observers at the meeting that opens on Wednesday.
In Beijing on Friday, Pakistan's ambassador to China also called for the SCO's support for the war in Afghanistan and Islamabad's ongoing anti-terror mission.
"The most important aspect is that the SCO should stay engaged in this issue," Masood Khan said at a briefing, adding that the organization should promote dialog to achieve national reconciliation in Afghanistan.
SCO countries should have "a long-term commitment to reconstruction and investment" in devastated areas in the war region, Khan said.
"China is already there, and other SCO countries should join in," he urged. China is engaged in reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, but has no military involvement.
About 40 military officers from Afghanistan and Iraq are now taking a two-month humanitarian mine-clearing training course at the University of Science and Technology of the People's Liberation Army in Nanjing, officials from China's Foreign Ministry said last month.
But Ye Hailin, an expert on Asia studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the SCO cannot yet provide concrete support to the Afghan military campaign.
"The relationship between NATO (leading fighting forces in Afghanistan) and the SCO is still awkward," Ye said.
"NATO should first make its timetable clear in Afghanistan" before the SCO could actually do something there, he added.
SCO members may have different views on how to help Afghanistan, Ye said.
Next week's meeting comes at a time when the United States' and international commitment to the war in Afghanistan is under review. On Thursday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend authorization for NATO's 70,000-strong force to remain in Afghanistan for a year.
The leaders' meeting in Beijing will also try to strengthen efforts to fight drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism, and work out details of China's proposed $10 billion in loans to the largely poor region, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Wang said.
Putin's visit
Russian and Chinese leaders will discuss deepening energy cooperation, regional security issues and efforts to tackle the financial crisis, Wang said.
"Cooperation between China and Russia has already penetrated into all the sectors and a high-level regular meeting mechanism has been put into place," said Wang.
The two countries have also used the framework of the Shanghai organization in recent years to incorporate joint anti-terrorism drills and border protection exercises.
Russian firms plan to sign more than $5.5 billion-worth of deals with their Chinese partners during Putin's visit, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The 34 deals will include a $500 million loan agreement to fund joint projects in transportation, infrastructure, construction and mineral extraction.
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