Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 20 September 2023, an international conference on combating terrorism and extremism was held in Bishkek within the framework of the chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The event was organized by the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Anti-Terrorism Center of the CIS Member States. This was reported by the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The following leaders took part in the Conference:

competent authorities of 8 CIS member states (Azerbaijan Republic, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Uzbekistan);

competent authorities of 4 SCO member states that are not members of the CIS (Republic of India, Islamic Republic of Iran, People’s Republic of China, Islamic Republic of Pakistan) and an observer state to the SCO (Mongolia);

working structures of 10 statutory and sectoral bodies of the CIS (Executive Committee, Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services, Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly, Council of Commanders of Border Troops, Coordination Council of Prosecutors General, Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs, Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units, Council of Heads of Customs Services, Interstate Aviation Committee, Anti-Terrorist Center);

executive bodies of 8 international organizations (UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, Executive Directorate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council, Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Group of the UN Security Council, Program Office of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in the Kyrgyz Republic, General Secretariat of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) ), OSCE Program Office in the Kyrgyz Republic, Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, Secretariat and Joint Headquarters of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Secretariat and Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Their Precursors);

3 research and educational organizations (Basic Organization of the CIS Member States for the Study of Problems of Countering Terrorism and Other Manifestations of Extremism, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Academy of Military Sciences of the Russian Federation).

During the Conference, participants:

exchanged national experience in countering terrorism and extremism, discussed the state of scientific support for these activities and international counter-terrorism cooperation;

reviewed the trends in the formation and development of terrorist threats in the CIS, expressed their concern about the situation in Afghanistan and a number of states in the Middle East, which is creating hotbeds of tension near the borders of the Commonwealth, expressed concern about the increasing risks of penetration into the territories of the states of the Central Asian region, including through migration channels and in the flow of refugees from MTO militants, the leakage of weapons and ammunition from zones of military conflicts, as well as the use by terrorists in their criminal activities of the latest information and technical achievements - artificial intelligence technologies, unmanned systems and robotic systems;

confirmed their strong commitment to the further development and strengthening of multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, noting the central role of the UN in coordinating international efforts to counter terrorism and extremism, drew attention to the importance of the systematic implementation of practical measures provided for by the anti-terrorism programs of the UN and the CIS, using the broader potential of regional structures, such as the CIS, SCO, CSTO, EAG, SVDMA, CARICC in the fight against terrorism and extremism;

noted the role of the Basic Organization of the CIS Member States for the study of problems of countering terrorism and other manifestations of extremism in the scientific support of anti-terrorism activities in the CIS, pointing to the positive results of its work, including the prepared Perspective Program of Scientific Research for 2023-2027 and a coordinated assessment of the projected terrorist threats in the Commonwealth space.

Taking into account the discussion, the Conference participants noted the importance of continuing work aimed at harmonizing the legislation of the CIS member states in the field of combating terrorism, increasing the level of interaction between competent authorities and international organizations, including in the field of information exchange.

The parties agreed on the need to expand the research activities of scientific organizations and develop effective methods and technologies for countering terrorism and extremism in the CIS, and spoke in favor of continuing the practice of exchanging scientific and methodological publications on current issues of countering terrorism and extremism.

On the sidelines of the Conference, a ceremony of ceremonial exchange of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the CIS ATC and the SCO RATS, signed in May of this year in Moscow, took place.

The signed Memorandum reflects the results of the accumulated experience of cooperation, the established practice of conducting joint activities in the legal, coordination, information-analytical, educational, methodological and scientific-organizational fields of activity.

The document continues the course to strengthen interaction between organizations and will give additional impetus to the development of relations in the anti-terrorist sphere.

Based on the results of the Conference, the Final Document was adopted.