The fourth conference of the Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) prime ministers opened here on Wednesday, with the focus of discussions on issues of anti-terrorism and economic cooperation between the SCO member states.

Taking part in the meeting were the heads of government of China, Russia and four Central Asian states -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

China was represented by Premier Wen Jiabao, while Russia by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Kazakhstan by Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, Kyrgyzstan by Prime Minister Feliks Kulov, Tajikistan by Prime Minister Akil Akilov and Uzbekistan by Deputy Prime Minister Uktur Tukhtamuradovich Sultanov.

Mongolian Prime Minister Tsakhia Elbegdorj, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and Iran's First Vice-President Parviz Dawoodi also attended the conference for the first time as observers.

The SCO was founded in June, 2001, and inaugurated an Anti-Terrorist Center in the Uzbek capital Tashkent in June, 2004.

Prior to the beginning of the conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with the SCO prime ministers.

The SCO is gathering momentum and acquiring more and more political weight, Putin was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency.

The aggregate population of the SCO's member states and observer countries exceeds three billion people. It is only natural that SCO decisions will influence the well-being of much of the world. It is an important factor of world politics, Putin noted.

The president underlined that the SCO had realized all the tasks which were set five years ago, when it was established.

The economic cooperation between the SCO member states is assuming an increasing significance, Putin noted, holding it is necessary to develop interaction within the SCO framework in the economic and humanitarian spheres.

In economic interaction, special attention has to be paid to financial relations. Russia will welcome the SCO's plans to boost the cooperation between financial organizations, Putin said.

Source: Xinhua