"We are bound to do this by hardships that our countries are suffering due to the global financial crisis," Patrushev said at a meeting of security council secretaries of the SCO member states in Moscow.

Patrushev said that the authority of the SCO, which unites Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is growing.

"The growth of the authority of the organization on the international arena as one of the key mechanisms of ensuring regional security and countering such modern challenges and threats as terrorism and organized crime is evident," Patrushev said.

He said that the SCO "has been proving its efficiency in countering new challenges and threats as well as in expanding horizons of business and humanitarian cooperation from the moment of its establishment".

He said that the development of the SCO was one of the priorities of Russia’s foreign policy.