The participants of the July 5 Dushanbe summit of the Shanghai Five are serious about strengthening regional cooperation. Not only did the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan pledge to deepen economic and political ties, but they also expressed the desire to broaden the membership of the fledgling organization.
"Today, the G-5 has all necessary opportunities for transformation into a union of countries aimed at more broad and multilateral aspects of interrelations," Tajikistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Talbak Nazarov said after the summit. He also stated that "the G-5 is not a military bloc and other countries might join this association." A likely candidate for membership is Uzbekistan. Uzbek President Islam Karimov attended the Dushanbe gathering as an observer.
The Shanghai G-5 was formed in 1996 ostensibly to provide a vehicle for the member nations to address border issues. Now that dilemmas connected with the frontier are largely resolved, member states are exploring possibilities for utilizing the organization to bolster trade. An indicator of the organization's evolution is its name change: responding to a proposal of Tajik President Imomali Rahmonov, the participants of the summit agreed to rename the organization the Shanghai Forum. The new name is designed to reflect the fact that regional cooperation intends to grow to a qualitatively new level.
It is likely that in the near future other participants may join the ranks of the Forum. In this connection, the participation of President Islam Karimov at the summit doesn't seem to be accidental. The Uzbek leader, speaking at the meeting, stated specifically that positions of Uzbekistan and member countries of the G-5 on many issues of international policy are similar, and that the G-5 has great potential; however, President Karimov considers the participation of Uzbekistan crucial to the successful solution of such issues. Thus, the Uzbek leader conveyed the wish of his country either to join the G-5 or to establish cooperation with it on a permanent basis. The other participants of the meeting have reacted graciously to that desire. "The Shanghai Forum is not a private club, it is an open organization encouraging other countries of the region in cooperation with it", the Russian President Putin said.
The chief result of the Dushanbe summit was a joint declaration, signed by the five leaders.
The leaders of the five countries seconded the position of China on the Taiwan matter and Russia's policy in Chechnya. They came out against interference in domestic affairs of other countries, "including [interference] under the pretext of humanitarian intervention and protection of human rights." At the same time, the leaders of member countries of the G-5 proclaimed their adherence to the principle of respect for human rights. The parties also stated the necessity of preservation and strict observation of the Agreement on Anti-Missile Defense of 1972, prohibiting the creation of national systems of anti-missile defense. The Presidents approved the proposal of the Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev to form, within the framework of the Forum, a regional anti-terrorist center with headquarters in Bishkek. They have also decided to form a Council of National Coordinators, which will comprise one national representative from each country, and to hold regular meetings of heads of governments, ministers of foreign affairs, and ministers of defense.
The signing of the Dushanbe Declaration may be considered a success for the Russian and Chinese diplomacies. It is to be noted that President Putin has confirmed the position of his predecessor Boris Yeltsin on the strategic alliance between the People's Republic of China and Russia. At the same time, it is easy to see that the majority decisions of the Dushanbe meeting are of general, declarative and non-committal nature. In spite of some "anti-West" or more precisely "anti-American" rhetoric, the leaders of member countries of the G-5 have not signed any strategically important documents. Coincidence of positions has been revealed on issues of regional security; however, the border issues between China and Russia and Tajikistan have not been, so far, settled. Economic cooperation at the meeting has been discussed only in general outline. The Presidents preferred to discuss that issue during bilateral meetings.
Marat Mamadshoyev is a correspondent for the newspaper Asia-Plus. He is an attorney and has an advanced degree in higher education. He is based in Dushanbe.
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