SCO chief says consistent aid to restore Afghanistan’s economy will solve problems

BEIJING, July 7. /TASS/. Only providing serious consistent assistance on restoring the economy of Afghanistan may solve the country’s problems, the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Dmitry Mezentsev, said in an interview with TASS on Tuesday. "The potential of police measures may not be indefinite. The principal solution to the Afghan issue is possible only on condition that serious consistent aid is provided on restoring the economy of the country and developing its new agricultural production," Mezentsev said. All the leaders of the SCO countries stress that the work on normalizing the situation in Afghanistan should be carried out only with the "central coordinating role of the United Nations," he said. "I should not that the UN is ready to expand its cooperation with the regional organizations and ensure closer and more interconnected work with them first of all in the interests of ensuring regional security and stability on preventing regional conflicts," the SCO chief said. "The SCO space is characterized today by stability and security although we certainly understand that the Afghan issue has not been solved to the full extent," he said. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a permanent regional association founded in Shanghai, China, on June 15, 2001. Its priority tasks include joint counteraction to terrorism and extremism; cooperation in education as well as in the energy, oil and gas, transport, communication and other spheres. At present, the SCO comprises Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have an observer status while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are partners for dialogue. Read more