In 2001, the Russian Federation founded the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) together with Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Active involvement in SCO activities is a high-priority aspect of Russia's Asia-Pacific policies.
The Russian side makes a constructive contribution to preparing and holding meetings of the Council of SCO Heads of State, the Council of SCO Heads of Government (Prime Ministers), meetings of national Security Council Secretaries, Foreign Ministers of SCO member-states, Chairpersons of SCO member-countries' Supreme Courts, Prosecutors-General of SCO member-states and the heads of specialized ministries and departments.
Moreover, Russia takes an active part in the work of expert groups in various cooperation spheres and drafts SCO political declarations, joint statements and contractual-legal documents.
The Russian Federation hosted two SCO summits, in St. Petersburg in 2002 and in Moscow in 2003. In 2005, Moscow hosted a meeting of the Council of SCO Heads of Government (Prime Ministers), as well as the meetings of the Council of SCO Foreign Ministers in 2002 and 2004 and a meeting of SCO Parliament Speakers in 2006.
The SCO Forum, a platform for expanded cooperation between R&D and political-science centers of SCO member-states, was established based on a Russian initiative. The relevant mechanisms of the Council of SCO Defense Ministers and inter-parliamentary cooperation were also streamlined, and the SCO Business Council and the SCO Inter-Bank Association established, on Russia's initiative.
At present, Russia and other SCO member-states are examining such initiatives as the activation of the mechanism of meetings of SCO Interior and Public Security Ministers and environmental-protection departments, the creation of an SCO center for preventing calamities and industrial disasters, an SCO youth association, the SCO Energy Club and the SCO University.
The concerned parties have started implementing a proposal on including the increasingly important international information security issues in the SCO agenda. On August 16, 2007, the Council of SCO Heads of State met in Bishkek and approved an action plan on facilitating international information security.
Russia actively cooperates with its partners under the auspices of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), initiates the drafting of documents regarding the struggle against terrorism, separatism, and extremism and takes part in RATS' counter-terrorist exercises.
In August 2007, the first major SCO counter-terrorist troop exercise, Peace Mission 2007, was held in Chebarkul in Russia's Chelyabinsk Region. In early September 2008, SCO member-states' secret services organized the joint counter-terrorist exercise "Volgograd Anti-Terror 2008".
Russia prioritizes expanded intra-SCO cooperation on the Afghan issue. Work is proceeding on pace to create drug-security and financial-security belts along Afghan borders and to convene a special conference on Afghanistan under SCO auspices.
Russia contributes 24% of the SCO budget and therefore its quota makes up seven out of 30 officials of the SCO Secretariat in Beijing and another seven officials of the 30-member staff of the RATS Executive Committee in Tashkent, including the posts of SCO Secretary-General and Deputy Director of the RATS Executive Committee.