Aerial photo shows the media center of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, June 3, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit being hosted by China will be of great significance for member states and the region. The SCO heads of states, including India and Pakistan, which were granted the full membership last year, will attend the meeting, chaired by President Xi Jinping.

The advent of a community in which all nations live in peace and harmony, ensure security and stability, strengthen mutual trust and friendly neighborliness, respect human rights and territorial integrity, and pursue common prosperity and shared development has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the SCO member states. That is, the member states have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the Charter of the United Nations, the development of friendly relations; promotion of a new democratic and fair international order; and efficient regional cooperation for combating the “three evil forces,” namely terrorism, separatism and extremism.

The current summit being held in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, will be highly productive for the five following reasons:

First, the issue of terrorism and regional conflicts will be an important topic in the summit. The leaders of the SCO will revive their commitments to mitigate the ongoing conflicts and combat terrorism in all its kinds. Moreover, they will support the regional countries to settle their disputes through communication rather than confrontation and join hand to combat the three evil forces, which have inflicted indescribable sufferings upon nations and caused migration influx in modern world. In other words, “prevention of international conflicts” and advocating “peaceful settlement” are one of the main objectives of the organization written in the SCO Charter. Meanwhile, the Tashkent-based Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), which has reportedly foiled more than 600 terror plots and captured 2,000 members of international terrorist groups from 2013 to 2017, is a substantial permanent body of the SCO and carries much weight in combating terrorism and backing regional security system.

“Shanghai Spirit” of “mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development,” stated in the SCO Charter, serves as the soul of the organization and will be the second top priority in the summit. The participation of two new members India and Pakistan in the summit is specifically paramount in reducing the risk of conflicts, building mutual trust, cementing diplomatic ties and promoting common development and win-win cooperation. To sum up the development experience of the SCO within the past 17 years and enrich the Shanghai Spirit, the summit will issue the Qingdao Declaration.

Third, promoting economic cooperation and consolidating multilateral trade system will be reiterated in the summit. Currently, as protectionism and trade friction are making the international headlines, the SCO members feel that there is a strong need for all-round cooperation and balanced economic growth. They will seek to achieve steady increase of living standards and integrate into global economy with cooperation and partnership. To enhance trade and regional connectivity, the state members will commit themselves to take more concrete actions in promoting the construction of the mega-project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the concept of which is already embedded in the SCO. Multilateralism and protectionism have no room in this organization.

Fourth, the SCO leaders will also seek to deepen cultural bonds and people-to-people exchanges which will necessarily cultivate friendly relations among nations and strengthen the spirit of brotherhood. A close cultural contact will boost mutual understandings and make people respect cultural diversity that is recognized by SCO Charter and supported by state members.

Fifth, since promoting “human rights” and “fundamental freedoms” are one of the most prominent features of SCO articulated in its Charter, the member countries need to uphold the rights and liberties of the public, in accordance with Charter of the United Nations and their national legislations. In short, safeguarding human rights and freedoms are also the obligation of the SCO to be observed properly.

Meanwhile, the heads of the SCO will pledge to take more practical steps to contribute to “building a community with shared future for mankind” through seeking common ground, enhancing win-win cooperation, advocating peaceful coexistence and practicing upon the principles of mutual respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, and non-use of force.

To sum up, the 18th SCO summit will be a milestone of historical significance and its member states will sign more than 10 agreements covering the fields of security, economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. The member states will strengthen their resolve to maintain world peace, combat terrorism and extremism, adhere to Shanghai Spirit, extend economic cooperation, deepen cultural exchanges and build a civil and democratic society where all could exercise their rights and freedoms and share the fruit of peace and prosperity.

The author is an Afghan journalist and freelance writer based in Beijing.