The joint communique of the Defense Ministers' Meeting of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was released Wednesday.

The Defense Ministers' Meeting of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is held in Beijing on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

Held on Tuesday in Beijing, the meeting saw the ministers exchange views on the current international and regional security situation, further enhancing practical cooperation in defense and security fields among the SCO member states and other issues of common interest. They reached broad common understanding.

The defense ministers pointed out that peace and development remained the theme of the time, while the destabilizing and uncertain factors of the world were increasingly outstanding.

They agreed that fighting terrorism, extremism and separatism, and strengthening regional peace, security and stability were the priority tasks of the SCO members.

"New thinking on common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security should be fostered to strengthen the defense and security cooperation by the organization," according to the communique. "SCO members should also be committed to creating favorable security environment for the connectivity of the development strategies of the countries, facilitate the efforts to build a community with a shared future for humanity, and a fair and stable multi-polarized world."

Defense ministers from India and Kazakhstan, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe, and defense ministers from Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan attended the meeting. The chief of the general staff of the Kyrgyz Republic attended the meeting. The defense minister of Belarus attended the meeting as the chairman country guest.

They decided that the 2019 defense ministers' meeting of the SCO member states would be held in the Kyrgyz Republic, according to the communique.