Asia PR News

ALMATY, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ –

A large-scale international conference, the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO): Results and Prospects, is being held in the city of Almaty
from November 30 through December 1, 2006, Kazakhstan’s Public Diplomacy
Foundation said.

The conference covers problems and prospects linked to the activities of
the SCO, the largest and most influential military, political and economic
alliance of Eurasian countries.

Cooperation with the SCO is a key geopolitical priority for Kazakhstan in
forming a regional security system. It is the SCO that clearly represents
Kazakhstan’s main strategic allies. For Kazakhstan, which seeks to maintain a
balance of power, it is very important in terms of foreign policy efficiency to
have such allies as Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan united
in one bloc. This is why Kazakhstan, which has been a member of the SCO since
it was founded, is putting more and more effort into making the SCO more
constructive, and increasing the SCO’s international prestige and influence.

SCO Secretary General Zhang Deguang’s term is about to expire. Kazakh
Foreign Affairs Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev said in April during an official
visit to Beijing: "We take this issue very seriously. The position of the SCO’s
secretary general is likely to be taken by a quite experienced diplomat from
our country." Bolat Nurgaliyev has been approved for the position after an
elaborate selection process, and will assume office on January 1, 2007.

After the Kazakh representative becomes secretary general, Kazakhstan will
clearly play a very active role in the SCO’s activities. Kazakhstan will be
more persistent in proposing new solutions to political and economic problems
faced by the members of the organization. The position of secretary general
will also change in 2007, becoming more independent and influential.

As a result of Kazakhstan’s efforts to make the SCO more attractive to the
international community, international political and social groups have
undoubtedly paid more attention to the organization’s activities and its global
prospects. The effectiveness of Kazakhstan’s efforts is confirmed by the fact
that the SCO’s conference is being held in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s main financial
and cultural center. Leading experts in geopolitics and regional problems
linked to the SCO’s activities are taking part in the conference. The concept
of the conference is quite constructive: summing up the results of the SCO’s
activities for the past five years and considering scenarios and variants of
the SCO’s future development.

The principal goal of the conference, set by Kazakhstan, is to develop a
common position and a blueprint for the future implementation of the SCO’s
stated goals by all SCO members on an unofficial, consultative level. It should
be noted that Kazakhstan has always seen the SCO as a powerful guarantee of a
multilateral and balanced foreign policy, which Kazakhstan will continue to
implement in the future.

SOURCE: Kazakhstan Public Diplomacy Foundation

CONTACT: Dauren Zhaubasarov,
+7-3272-954416,
dauren@fpd.kz