TASHKENT. April 8 (Interfax) - Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will hold joint border exercises, Unity-2016, in Kazakhstan this year, the first deputy director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergei Smirnov, has said.
"The border operation will be conducted in the territory of Kazakhstan. All SCO countries will take part in it at the level of experts of border guard services and agencies," Smirnov told reporters on Friday following a meeting of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
For his part, Nurgali Bilisbekov, Kazakh National Security Committee deputy chief and chairman of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure board, said that the session summed up the results of measures taken as part of the 2013-2015 program of cooperation between the SCO countries' relevant agencies and addressed the results of joint exercises to counter terrorism and religious extremism on the internet, Xiamen-2015, which were held in China.
The meeting also addressed issues surrounding joint work to prevent terrorist suicide attacks, he said.
"The events in Turkey, France and Belgium staged by suicide bombers have become a serious challenge to special services," Bilisbekov said.
At the meeting, the sides formulated an algorithm of joint measures to counter challenges coming from the so-called Islamic State (ISIL) group in the territory of SCO member countries, he said.
The participants in the meeting also agreed upon a set of additional joint steps aimed at neutralizing terrorist activity, including measures to stop citizens of the SCO member states from traveling abroad to take part in terrorist activities, Smirnov said.
"This decision has three aspects: timely information sharing, the creation of necessary databases for the SCO space, control over these persons' possible movement and conducting operations, either jointly or by the sides concerned, within the SCO space to prevent sabotage or terrorist acts that are being plotted," Smirnov said.