All countries must join forces to fight the challenges of drug trafficking, extremism and terrorism, together rather than operate in isolation, the Russian President said.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the summit meeting concentrated specifically on the situation in Afghanistan, fighting terrorism and preventing drug trafficking. A joint declaration adopted by the four presidents following the summit qualified terrorism and the drug trade as threats to peace and stability.

The four leaders declared their readiness to step up efforts in these areas, including through the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Mr Lavrov noted that the CSTO regularly organises anti-drug trafficking operations, Channel, in which Russia and Tajikistan participate fully, and Pakistan and Afghanistan are observers.

The presidents also discussed economic cooperation, including in sectors such as energy, transport infrastructure, and the mining industry. They stressed the need to draw up and carry out joint regional projects, noting, in particular, the necessity to settle on specific plans for rebuilding the Salang Tunnel and developing Afghanistan’s hydroelectricity industry, taking into account the hydroelectric power stations the country already has.

Also on the agenda was aid for flood-hit Pakistan. Russia has already sent emergency supplies, and will make a number of further proposals at the upcoming conference organised by the UN on this issue, Mr Lavrov said.

The presidents decided to continue four-party contacts between their countries through their foreign and economy ministers.

Mr Lavrov said that the economy ministers will launch projects in the relevant sectors, while the foreign ministers will work on foreign policy coordination.

In a separate meeting with President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, President Medvedev said, "unlike in the past, we have very regular, frequent contacts, and this is good, as it enables us to promote our relations with Pakistan, our economic ties, and our contacts on security issues and regional problems. We live in an unsettled region and the way we work together is crucial for the way a whole number of complicated processes will unfold.

"It is important to have this good political dialogue, of course, but it is also very important to expand our economic ties too. We have not made such good progress in this area yet."

In a meeting with the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, both presidents agreed that drugs are not just an Afghan problem.

President Karzai said, "On both fronts, in the fight against drug trafficking and the fight against terrorism, Afghanistan needs the support of friends, the support of great countries like Russia, in order to overcome these problems".

The four leaders gather in Sochi Kremlin Press Service