DUSHANBE, February 18, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda yesterday met here with visiting Director of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (RATS SCO) Yevgeniy Sysoyev, according to the Tajik Interior Ministry’s website.

In the course of the talks, Rahimzoda noted that Tajikistan was ready to cooperate with interested countries in countering terrorism, extremism and other challenges and threats in order to provide regional security.

Tajik interior ministry has already signed relevant agreements with interior ministries of Kyrgyzstan, China and other member nations of the SCO, Rahimzoda said.  

The two also exchanged views on issues related to combating drug trafficking, strengthening border security and exchanging operational information, the source said.

Headquartered in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), RATS SCO is a permanent organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization which serves to promote cooperation of Member States against terrorism, separatism, and extremism, which it refers to as “the three evil forces.”

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has six full members -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are six observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Sri Lanka and Turkey.

The Organization’s six full members account for 60% of the land mass of Eurasia and its population is a quarter of the world''s population.  With observer states included, its affiliates account for about half of the world''s population.