Russian FM sees rosy SCO future

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday praised the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and voiced confidence in its future development.

The SCO has completed its original task of ensuring order on the borders between the Central Asian countries, China and Russia, Lavrov said here during a press conference after talks with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

"As the SCO evolves, it has started to pay more attention to countering new challenges and threats, such as terrorism, separatism and extremism, and to using its comparative advantages, being located on a large part of the Eurasian continent," Lavrov said.

"The SCO member countries are interested in using these advantages to further develop their economic ties, expand trade flows and create additional transport infrastructure that will minimize costs and, accordingly, increase profits and benefit each one of our countries," he added.

He said the use of the Northern Sea Route, a shipping line in the Arctic connecting Russia's European part with the Far East, will open up impressive prospects for the SCO.

He also noted that cultural and humanitarian cooperation is developing within the SCO framework.