A regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (CHS SCO) took place on August 28, 2008 in Dushanbe. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbaev, President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao, President of the Kyrgyz Republic K. S. Bakiev, President of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev, President of the Republic of Tajikistan E. Rakhmon, and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan I. A. Karimov were in attendance.

President of the Republic of Tajikistan E. Rakhmon chaired the meeting.

Secretary-General of the SCO B. K. Nurgaliev and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS) M. U. Subanov participated in the meeting.

Heads of delegations from the SCO observer states-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran M. Ahmadinejad, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Republic of India M. Deora, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia S. Oyun, Advisor to the Prime Minister with the rank of Federal Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan M. A. Durrani, as well as guests of the host state-President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan H. Karzai, Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations M. Jenca, Chairman of the Executive Committee-Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States S. N. Lebedev, Deputy Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization T. I. Buzubaev were in attendance.

The heads of state exchanged opinions on international issues and the regional situation. Broad convergence or similarity of positions was noted which was reflected in the Dushanbe Declaration.

Plenipotentiary representatives of the member states of the Organization signed the Agreement on the Order of Organization and Staging of Joint Counterterrorism Exercises by the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Agreement on Cooperation Among the Governments of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Combating Illegal Circulation of Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives. The Memorandum on Partnership Relations Between the Interbank Association of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Development Bank was also signed.

In the course of the meeting in a traditional spirit of friendship, mutual understanding and constructivism the achievements of the activity of the Organization in the period following the Bishkek summit were considered, and development priorities were set for the period until the next meeting of the CHS and longer term perspective.

It was stated that the tasks set at the CHS meeting in Bishkek as well as the reached agreements were being successfully fulfilled.

The heads of state approved the report of the SCO Secretary-General on the work of the Organization in the past year and the report of the RATS Council on the work of the Regional Antiterrorist Structure in 2007.

The heads of state congratulated President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao on successful staging of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. The Chinese side expressed gratitude to the SCO member states for extensive support in the period of their preparation and staging. Cooperation in the SCO framework in ensuring security at the Olympics was highly evaluated.

The heads of state were in attendance at the opening of the Fourth Art Festival of the SCO Member States.

The heads of state underlined the importance of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborly Relations, Friendship and Cooperation signed in August 2007 in Bishkek in terms of strengthening interaction in the framework of the Organization in joint counteraction against new challenges and threats, cementing international peace and security and maintaining global and regional stability.

Practical implementation of the Treaty will also promote the improvement of socioeconomic conditions and deepening of integration processes in the SCO space.

The heads of state noted a gradual increase in the activity of the SCO Regional Antiterrorist Structure in the field of fighting new challenges and threats as an effective mechanism of coordination of interaction among the competent agencies of the SCO member states and its information and analytical support. The process of practical implementation of the Cooperation Plan on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2007-09 was evaluated positively. The joint drills of the member states including the Peace Mission 2007 counterterrorism exercise staged in Chelyabinsk Region of the Russian Federation contributed to the enhancement of counterterrorism capabilities. The practice of conducting joint drills will be continued. The parties will consider at an early date a possibility of holding the first meeting of ministers of internal affairs and public security at the beginning of 2009.

The heads of state reiterated their concern over threats related to the possibility of using modern information and telecommunication technologies for purposes incompatible with the tasks of ensuring international stability and security. In this regard they noted the successful work of the SCO member states' International Information Security Expert Group on the