DUSHANBE, June 15, Asia-Plus -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization, which was founded on June 15, 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.   Except for Uzbekistan , the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.

Russian media report a ceremonial reception dedicated to this date is being held in Yekaterinburg , Russia , today.   Representatives from executive and legislative powers of the Sverdlovsk region, representatives from diplomatic missions accredited in Yekaterinburg and artistes have been invited to the reception.   

The Shanghai Five grouping was originally created April 26, 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai by the heads of states of Kazakhstan , the People''s Republic of China , Kyrgyzstan , Russia and Tajikistan .   April 24, 1997 the same countries signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions in a meeting in Moscow .

Subsequent annual summits of the Shanghai Five group occurred in Almaty ( Kazakhstan ) in 1998, in Bishkek ( Kyrgyzstan ) in 1999, and in Dushanbe ( Tajikistan ) in 2000.

In 2001, the annual summit returned to Shanghai , China .   There the five member nations first admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism (thus transforming it into the Shanghai Six). Then all six heads of state signed on June 15 , 2001 , the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, praising the role played thus far by the Shanghai Five mechanism and aiming to transform it to a higher level of cooperation. In July 2001, Russia and the PRC, the organization’s two leading nations, signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.   

In June 2002, the heads of the SCO member states met in St. Petersburg , Russia .   There they signed the SCO Charter which expounded on the organization’s purposes, principles, structures and form of operation, and established it officially from the point of view of international law.

The SCO is primarily centered around its member nations'' Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism.   

At the June 16-17 2004 SCO summit, held in Tashkent , Uzbekistan , the Regional Antiterrorism Structure (RATS) was established.   On April 21, 2006 , the SCO announced plans to fight cross-border drug crimes under the counter-terrorism rubric.   There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises.

A Framework Agreement to enhance economic cooperation was signed by the SCO member states on September 23 2003 .   At the same meeting China ’s Wen Jiabao proposed a long-term objective to establish a free trade area in the SCO, while other more immediate measures would be taken to improve the flow of goods in the region.   A follow up plan with 100 specific actions was signed one year later, on September 23, 2004 .  

On October 26, 2005 , the Moscow Summit of the SCO, the Secretary General of the Organization said that the SCO will prioritize joint energy projects; such will include the oil and gas sector, the exploration of new hydrocarbon reserves, and joint use of water resources. The creation of an Inter-bank SCO Council was also agreed upon at that summit in order to fund future joint projects. The first meeting of the SCO Interbank Association was held in Beijing on February 21-22 2006 . On November 30, 2006 , at The SCO: Results and Perspectives, an international conference held in Almaty , the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia is developing plans for an SCO "Energy Club".

Cultural cooperation also occurs in the SCO framework. Culture ministers of the SCO met for the first time in Beijing on April 12, 2002 , signing a joint statement for continued cooperation. The third meeting of the Culture Ministers took place in Tashkent , Uzbekistan , on 27-28 April 2006.

An SCO Arts Festival and Exhibition was held for the first time during the Astana Summit in 2005.   The second Arts Festival and Exhibition took place in Shanghai in June 2006. Kazakhstan has also suggested an SCO folk dance festival to take place in 2008, in Astana.