"Among the three principal spheres of SCO activity, namely security, economy and culture, major success has been achieved in the first one, as military anti-terror drills are conducted regularly," Andrei Lukin, who is director of the Center for East Asia and SCO Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, told Xinhua in an interview prior to an upcoming SCO summit in Bishkek.

　　SCO member states also share information on fighting terrorism and coordinate their activities, Lukin said, adding that they plan to incorporate anti-drug services as well.

　　As NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan looms, the SCO should undertake consistent steps toward deeper interaction in the security sphere and countering terrorism, said the expert.

　　Lukin believes that initiating an inter-Afghanistan peace dialogue under the auspices of the SCO could be the next step, if the SCO member states and observer states which have influence on Afghanistan's ethnic groups encourage those groups to participate in the talks.

　　"Even a mere meeting of the Afghan ethnic groups' leaders held in a capital of one of the SCO countries would have a considerable demonstrative effect," said the expert.

　　On economic cooperation, Lukin said that the various judicial agreements signed under the SCO framework have created better conditions for bilateral trade and investment.

　　"Still, we'd care for more," said the expert, noting that the lack of a common financing tool is impeding further economic cooperation. He said member states should push for the creation of a development bank, which has been discussed for many years.

　　Meanwhile, Lukin hailed the launch of the University SCO as a major achievement in cultural cooperation. The first batch of masters have graduated from the university network, which connects universities in SCO member states and observer countries.

　　"These graduates should become valuable experts for SCO bodies and various companies in the member countries," said Lukin. "They will be an important resource for multilateral cooperation."