The CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is to increase cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), said reports from the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Friday.

The CSTO is to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the SCO soon, said Nikolai Bordyuzha, Secretary General of the CSTO at a press conference after a meeting of CIS defense ministers in Bishkek.

Bordyuzha said he had already received an official notice regarding the signing of the memorandum from the secretariat of the SCO, Xinhua reported.

Under the cooperative memorandum, the two organizations will exchange views on international issues of common concern, strengthen cooperation in areas such as combating drug trafficking and illegal immigration, and work together to cope with new challenges and threats, said Bordyuzha.

The Russian-led CSTO military bloc was set up in 1992 to focus on regional security issues. It consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The SCO aims to enhance security, trade, military, judicial and cultural cooperation between its members China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, Iran, India and Pakistan are observers of the group.