DUSHANBE , June 1, Asia-Plus - The first meeting of heads of parliament from countries making up the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow has resulted in adoption of a joint statement.  

We will recall that Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev, Chairman of the Majlisi Milli ( Tajikistan ’s upper chamber of parliament) headed a Tajik delegation at this meeting.  

As it had been reported earlier, SCO speakers of parliament gathered for a debut meeting in Moscow on June 30 to highlight cooperation between the CIS legislators and address regional cooperation and international issues.  The meeting discussed joint anti-terrorism measures, including measures to end terrorism financing.  Participants at the meeting expressed readiness to lay a legal foundation for further expansion of cooperation between the SCO member nations in economic, socio-cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as strengthening peace and stability in the region.   

According to information from the Majlisi Milli, Ubaidulloyev telling the meeting pointed to the significance of parliamentary support for further strengthening of the Organization.  “He called for working out measures to jointly address the modern challenges,” said the source, “For the purpose of providing assistance to Afghanistan , speaker of Tajikistan ’s upper chamber of parliament proposed to consider the possibility of launching inter-parliamentary consultative mechanism “SCO-Afghanistan.”   

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in 2001 as the regional cooperation and security organization.  Its six permanent members are China , Russia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , and Uzbekistan . India , Iran , Mongolia , and Pakistan are observers.