Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Says Fight Against Terrorism Remains Key Priority For Organization

(@FahadShabbir)

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Says Fight Against Terrorism Remains Key Priority for Organization

Fight against terrorism remains a key priority for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), with the SCO member states sticking to the policy of "zero tolerance" to any terrorist and extremist act, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov said on Tuesday.

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2018) Fight against terrorism remains a key priority for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), with the SCO member states sticking to the policy of "zero tolerance" to any terrorist and extremist act, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov said on Tuesday.

"In general, the complex work on resisting terrorism has been and remains a key priority of the SCO activity, The consensus of 'zero tolerance' to any terrorist and extremist act has become firmly established within the SCO member states, as there is no excuse of this, and there cannot be any," Alimov said at the course on terrorism fight, organized by the SCO Center for legal training and cooperation.

Alimov added that a legal framework set to enhance the SCO members' cooperation on fight against terrorism had been created, and the methods of combating new international security threats were constantly being elaborated.

"This work is being done constantly, every year new elements of the well-coordinated system of fighting the terrorist threat are being elaborated," the SCO chief said.

Alimov noted that the SCO focused on enhancing international counterterror cooperation via developing ties with the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Anti-Terrorism Center of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the UN Security Council, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the International Criminal Police Organization.

He added that the SCO attached great importance to fighting cybercrime, namely, the proliferation of terrorist and extremist propaganda, including the "public justification of terrorism aimed at the instigation of terrorist acts."

Apart from being engaged in prevention of young people recruitment into terrorist activities, the SCO focuses on fight against illegal drugs trafficking, which often becomes a source of revenue for terror groups, Alimov explained.

"The SCO unites countries with a huge potential and real possibilities to secure the Eurasian territory of the drug aggression," Alimov stressed.

The SCO comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as full members, while Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia hold an observer status. The SCO states cooperate on a number of issues, including economy, security, culture and science.