Sri Lanka has been granted the status of Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced this at the conclusion of the SCO Summit at Yekaterinburg, Russia.

The granting of the status of Dialogue Partner of this important international grouping concerned with security concerns, followed Sri Lanka’s successful defeat of the thirty year war of terror waged by the LTTE, last month.

In their joint statement the SCO members, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have welcomed the end of 'internal armed conflict' in Sri Lanka.

They expressed hope that on the foundation of the sovereignty of the state, territorial integrity and guaranteed rights of all the ethnic and religious groups a lasting peace, security and stability would be restored in the country.

The SCO is primarily centered on its member nations' security-related concerns, especially the threats of terrorism, separatism and extremism. International observers see evidence growing that its activities in the area of social development of its member states is increasing fast.

A spokesmen for the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo welcomed the granting of Dialogue Parmer Status in the SCO to Sri Lanka, stating this would enable Sri Lanka to share her own experience in combating terrorism with the members of SCO, and help in the coordinated action against terror in the region, as well as benefit from the closer cooperation with important friendly countries such as Russia and China.

The other country granted Dialogue Partner status together with Sri Lanka, following the SCO Summit is Belarus.

Afghan & Pakistan

It is also reported from Yekaterinburg that Russia has set up a trilateral mechanism with Afghanistan and Pakistan to help resolve the problem of terrorism in the tribal zone, the Hindu reported.

“We have instituted a trilateral format because the problem of Afghanistan cannot be dealt with outside the context of the overall situation in the region,” said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after meeting the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
“This problem cannot be resolved without normalizing the situation in several Pakistani provinces and without destroying the terrorist dens there,” Mr. Medvedev told a press conference in Yekaterinburg on Tuesday.

“It is only through collective efforts that we can deal with many issues, first of all the complex challenges of terrorism and crime. If we manage to create an efficient, workable trilateral mechanism, it will benefit our nations and help accomplish the tasks we are facing,” said Mr. Medvedev, opening the three-way meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.