159
CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS
No. 2(26), 2004
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan have shown how this approach works in practice by focusing on the unifying,
rather than separating, function of state borders. The new international organization, the SCO, that arose
during the negotiations on the border, significantly expanded the original range of tasks. Today its goal
is to develop multilateral cooperation among the participants, including in such areas as security and
defense, the economy, foreign policy, culture, and education. What is more, by resolving the disputed
territorial problems, the countries’ nascent striving to develop regional cooperation can be expected to
strengthen stability in the Eurasian subregion. And normalization of the situation in the region will help
to develop multilateral relations, which in the future should lead to economic growth in these countries.
Whatever the case, the experience of the SCO will be beneficial not only for resolving territorial prob-
lems, but also for creating an international security system.