On April 29, 2003, the routine conference of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in Almaty, former capital of Kazakhstan. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing led a delegation to attend the conference and delivered a speech.

In his speech, Li spoke highly of the headway that has been made by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in its organization building and other areas since last year?s St. Petersburg summit. On the future work of the Organization, Li said that the organizational setup should be sped up and preparations for the official launching of the Secretariat should be accelerated; security cooperation should be deepened and broadened and a regional anti-terrorism agency should be put in place as soon as possible to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism; anti-drug cooperation should be conducted at an early date; economic cooperation should be promoted and countries should come up with practical and feasible development programs and decide on and launch several workable cooperation projects; and the Organization should intensify its contacts with the outside so as to engage in world affairs in a more open and active manner.

The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan and vice foreign minister of Uzbekistan also delivered speeches, in which they elaborated on their positions on the organization building, economic development and trade, anti-terrorism and anti-drug as well as on such international issues as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Upon its conclusion, the conference endorsed several documents including a draft resolution on the codes of different agencies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization which will be subject to the review of the Moscow summit of the Organization to be held this May. The conference also issued a press communiqué. The foreign ministers of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan and vice foreign minister of Uzbekistan met with the press after the conference.