The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has made outstanding achievements in combating the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism since 2016, Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO RATS) Executive Committee Yevgeniy Sysoyev told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Sysoyev stressed that fighting the three evil forces remains one of the fundamental missions of the SCO.
SCO RATS has been working with the administrations of SCO members to fight the three forces, during which the SCO members improved coordination and cooperation ability, guaranteed regional security and stability, and accumulated abundant professional experience, according to Sysoyev.
He also said that seven resolutions were adopted during the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting held on June 8-9 in Astana, four of which were drafted by SCO RATS.
Among them, one of the most important resolutions was the SCO Convention on Countering Extremism, which showed that combating the three forces remains a key issue that we are facing and that should still be regarded as our main goal, he added.
The anti-extremism convention has been prepared for two years, and China has played an important role of coordination during the process, Sysoyev said.
Sysoyev said its adoption is of great significance as the convention, along with the SCO Counter-Terrorism Convention and Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, have constituted the legal basis for dealing with the threats of extremism.
Meanwhile, Sysoyev pointed out that the foreign armed terrorists are a major threat faced by the SCO members. Those armed terrorists come from SCO member states and engage in international terrorist activities in countries including Syria and Afghanistan.
It is a major task of the SCO member states to continue restricting the outflow of these terrorists from the SCO countries or fighting effectively against those who return to the countries for terrorist activities, Sysoyev added.
As for the expansion of the SCO, Sysoyev said that the inclusion of India and Pakistan, both major countries in the region, not only demonstrates the organization's growing appeal, but also injects strong impetus into in-depth cooperation in various fields among SCO members.
