Q.: What areas are the RCTS’s priorities?

A.: Priority for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has always been maintaining and reinforcing peace, ensuring security and stability in the region, first of all, by organizing joint efforts against terrorism, separatism and extremism, or fighting the three evils, as we call it.

At the Tashkent SCO summit on June 11, 2010, the leaders of the organization’s member states once again emphasized that terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, human trafficking, information security, natural calamities and industrial accidents remain the biggest threats and challenges for the SCO.

Processes ongoing in the global community show that the existing range of threats to national security is, unfortunately, expanding.

In this connection, given the analysis of the situation and its developments during Kazakhstan’s presidency in the SCO, anti-terrorist efforts within the SCO Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure will definitely be improved and will envisage further combining the member states’ efforts in this direction. In order to strengthen the United Nations’ central coordinating role in international counteraction to the terrorism threats, measures will be taken to ensure close interaction with other interested international and regional organizations, in order to create a broad network of partners to counteract the threat of terrorism. At present the RCTS is participating in drafting a plan of action to implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia.

Q.: What events does your committee plan for the period of Kazakhstan’s presidency in the SCO?

A.: The events to be organized as part of Kazakhstan’s SCO presidency are envisaged by the SCO plan of action for 2010-2011, and its main provisions were taken into account in the RCTS Executive Committee’s plan for 2011.

An international research and practical conference was held on the basis of the RCTS together with the Anti-terrorist Center of the CIS on April 13-14, 2011. Its theme was “Activities of terrorist organizations in the SCO and CIS, measures to ensure anti-terrorist security and sabotage protection of high-importance, restricted access and military facilities.” Given the relevance of the issues on the agenda, we invited representatives of other bodies, researchers from the SCO and the CIS, and also from the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

In compliance with the RCTS plan of work for 2011, we assisted in coordinating the interaction between relevant bodies of the SCO member states in order to prepare and conduct a regular joint anti-terrorist exercise in China last May.

Implementing the SCO program for 2010-2011, the Kazakh party together with the SCO Secretariat and RCTS conducted an international research and practical conference in Almaty on February 22-23, 2011, titled “Ten years along the road of security and cooperation. Successful experience of counteracting modern threats and challenges in the SCO.” The main goal was to overview the organization’s security activities since its emergence and to discuss the prospects of its future development. The conference worked out proposals and recommendations for the draft Astana declaration that is to be adopted at the SCO summit.

Q.: How are preparations for the forthcoming anniversary summit in Astana progressing?

A.: As I have already said, the international research and practical conference “Ten years along the road of security and cooperation,” the main goal of which was to overview the organization’s security activities over the ten years of its existence and to discuss the prospects of its further development, was one of the key preparatory events preceding the SCO anniversary summit. The RCTS has also held a Council meeting and a photo exhibition, issued a collection of fundamental documents related to fighting the three evils, an anniversary booklet devoted to the RCTS activities, etc.

Q.: Could you tell us about the main documents that will be discussed at the forthcoming SCO summit in Kazakhstan?

A.: At the anniversary summit in Astana, heads of SCO member states will consider and sign a number of documents. The adoption of the SCO Anti-drug Strategy for 2011-2016 will have a huge importance for counteracting terrorism financing in the RCTS activities.

Q.: Could you tell us about the main documents that will be discussed at the forthcoming SCO summit in Kazakhstan?

A.: At the anniversary summit in Astana, heads of SCO member states will consider and sign a number of documents. The adoption of the SCO Anti-drug Strategy for 2011-2016 will have a huge importance for counteracting terrorism financing in the RCTS activities.

In order to implement the Program of cooperation of the SCO member states in fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism for 2010-2012, the executive committee signed a protocol on cooperation between the RCTS and the Central Asian regional information coordination center to fight trafficking of drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors in Almaty in September 2010. Besides, we are coordinating a protocol on cooperation between the RCTS and the UN ODC Central Asia (the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Central Asia).

The forthcoming summit will consider the Report of the Council of the SCO Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure to the SCO Heads of State Council on the RCTS’s activities in 2010, which is devoted to our achievements last year and major prospects.

How is interaction organized between the SCO RCTS and international organizations?

A.: The SCO summits have repeatedly drawn attention to the need to establish close interaction with countries that have the status of an observer or a dialog partner, and also with other interested international organizations in order to build a broad network of partners to counteract presentday global threats and challenges, among which terrorism holds the first place.

In compliance with the Program of cooperation between the SCO member states in fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism for 2010-2012 and in order to reinforce and develop ties related to counteraction to terrorism, an RCTS delegation visited Pakistan and India, both SCO observers, where it held meetings and talks with representatives of these countries’ structures fighting the three evils. They discussed joint efforts against international terrorist organizations.

As I have already said, close contacts have been established between the RCTS and the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center, and a protocol on cooperation has been signed. The document defines such forms of interaction as information exchange and joint activities, creating a consulting mechanism for problems that are of mutual interest, and so on.

The RCTS is actively developing interaction and coordinating the possibility of signing similar documents on cooperation with the UN ODC Central Asia and the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee.

We have held talks with the Anti-terrorist division of the OSCE Secretariat, reaching an agreement on mutual invitations to international conferences and seminars devoted to this issue and on studying the EU experience in bringing to justice those responsible for public provocations and propaganda of terrorism; on mutual legal assistance and extradition of offenders in crimes related to terrorism; on using mechanisms of preventing, controlling and eliminating terrorism financing by ensuring quick access to financial information.

In compliance with the memorandum of understanding between the SCO and ASEAN Secretariats, which names regional security among key areas of interaction, I held a meeting in Tashkent with Sayakane Sisouvong, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General for ASEAN Political and Security Community.. We discussed issues of establishing contacts and prospects and forms of cooperation.

In February 2011, we went with a working visit to Semarang, Indonesia, and held meetings with the leaders of the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation, the director of the ASEAN Secretariat’s Political and Security Community and also with the head of the Indonesian National Agency for Terrorism Prevention.

During the meetings, we exchanged opinions on preparing the legal framework to develop bilateral cooperation, create an efficient strategy to counteract terrorism and neutralize factors and conditions that radicalize the population and other aspects of regional and international security.

On February 21, 2011, ahead of the international research and practical conference devoted to the SCO’s tenth anniversary, I had a working meeting in Astana with the executive director of the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICMA). We discussed the possibility of signing a protocol of intention related to anti-terrorist efforts, forms and areas of interaction between the two organizations and holding a joint event devoted to fighting current threats and challenges in the CICMA and the SCO. As you can see, work is under way, but there is still a lot to be done.