Security issues in SCO space discussed in Tashkent
The 9th scientific-practical conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization regional anti-terrorist structure (RATS) ‘Trust, cooperation and professionalism as the guarantee of secure future’ kicked off in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The event is joined by the representatives of the relevant bodies of the SCO member states as well as international relevant organizations.
According to Ruslan Mirzayev, director of the executive committee of the SCO RATS, the anti-terrorist structure is a successful example of multilateral cooperation in countering ‘three evil forces.’
As a result of concerted efforts and exchange of information between the relevant bodies of the SCO member states, 73 deep-cover terrorist organization units, 69 terror acts were eliminated, 1,440 terror acts were detected, 91 crimes of terrorist, separatist and extremist nature were eliminated. 504 members of international terrorist organizations were detected, 447 were detained, 54 were sentenced, and 182 were neutralized. 123 foreign fighters were detected, 13,166 financing channels were uncovered, and five channels of illegal migration used for terrorist and extremist purposes were revealed. Thanks to joint efforts, around 25 thousand information and resource materials promoting terrorism and extremism were blocked, said Mirzayev.
For his part, Nurlan Yermekbayev noted that amid the ongoing military and political processes around the world, the stakes are really high.
According to him, today the SCO is the pillar and coordinating center of not only the fight against challenges and threats but also multifaceted cooperation. Such attention to different types and spheres of cooperation between the member states, observers and partners of the SCO is quite natural as the basis of terrorism and extremism is social and economic, political and ideological factors.
For instance, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the situation in the food security sphere has been worsening since 2017. Thus, the number of people affected by severe food shortage stood at 155 million in 46 countries in 2017. The figure reached 258 million in 58 countries in 2022 as the annual growth of 20% was recorded. This was due to extreme environmental conditions, economic turmoil and military conflicts, said Yermekbayev.
