Within the framework of a meeting of SCO prime ministers in Tashkent on Friday, countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations are expected to sign an agreement on cooperation in the customs sphere, a source from the Russian government told Itar Tass.

Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov arrived in Tashkent on Thursday. "Russia will be ready to sign that document if other partners say they are ready," the source said.

According to the source, "the implementation of that agreement will help SCO countries to work more actively, as cooperation in the customs sphere goes together with the work of law enforcement agencies, as well as with fight against drug trafficking and with cooperation in the sphere of high technologies".

The source said cooperation also proceeds well on the setting up of a SCO centre for warning about and liquidating the aftermath of emergency situations. Developments of the recent years "have shown that cooperation of different countries on that issue, as well as the joining of efforts and hardware in emergency situations is extremely important," he stressed.

As for humanitarian cooperation, the source mentioned the setting up of SCO University as one of concrete and most real for the present moment joint projects.

Besides, countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are currently studying the possibility of mutual recognition of diplomas.