The 10th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council summit, which began in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent yesterday, has acquired special importance because of the continuing global economic crisis and an even more volatile situation in Central Asia.

The summit will summarize what the SCO achieved in various areas in last year and analyze the challenges it faces in promoting further multilateral cooperation.

The summit is important for four distinct reasons. First, it will discuss a broader range of subjects.

Second, with the passage of a document on rules of procedure, the SCO's institutional structure will move toward complete maturity, and its internal operations and meeting mechanism will become more efficient.

Third, the SCO is expected to lay down the legal framework for its expansion, because a document on the admission of new members is likely to be issued in Tashkent. And though new members will not be admitted immediately, the document will help improve the organization's regional influence and tap its cooperation potential.

Fourth, the summit will give full expression to SCO's openness. Before the summit, the SCO Secretariat signed a document on cooperation with the UN Secretariat. It is preparing to establish links with the Organization of Islamic Conference, too.

Over the past year, the SCO has played an indispensable role in safeguarding regional security and maintaining stability, helping member states boost their economies amid the global economic crisis and make efforts for common development. The establishment of an emergency mechanism has improved the organization's capability to react quickly to unexpected events such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The member states have stepped up efforts to deepen regional economic cooperation, help the region recover from the economic crisis faster than other regions, and seek the reform of the international currency and financial system through transnational cooperation.

But the SCO faces some problems, too, such as weakening cohesiveness, because of the volatile international situation. In April 2010, the political upheaval in Kyrgyzstan leading to a regime change affected the regional situation. Some Central Asian countries are still facing problems such as sluggish economic growth, serious social differences, governance capability, food safety, and energy and water shortage. Besides, the "three evil forces" (terrorism, extremism and separatism) are still a threat in the region and that threat could intensify.

So the new task for the SCO is to help the member countries maintain political stability.