Dushanbe, Tajikistan: The two-day Quadrilateral Counter Terrorism Coordination (QCTC) Forum will be held today in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
This will be the first technical meeting after the formation of QCTC in Urumqi, China last August. The official name of Forum was proposed as Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism (QCCM) on August 3, 2017 in Urumqi.
Military delegations from China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have arrived to discuss mechanism to counter terrorism in the region.
According to tentative agenda, participants in the quadripartite group will discuss points including exchange of information, building the capacity to combat terrorism, conducting joint anti-terrorist exercises and educational seminars, making collective decisions on counter-terrorism strategy.
Micro-level agenda of forum is how to establish a barrier to terrorism and extremism in the region, to prevent the emergence of new terrorist and extremist groups, and to restore the region to security and stability, primarily in countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to some experts, the four participating states have not only various military, economic and political opportunities, but also serious differences in interests, which in the past often led to periods of tension and bilateral differences. It should be noted that China is the main beneficiary of the new coalition, which pursues a variety of goals. During the talks in Urumqi last year, representatives of all four sides emphasized that the regional anti-terrorist quartet is not directed against any other country or international structure. However, it is not accidental that the anti-terrorist “group of four” was created in conditions when the activities of another quadripartite group with a similar composition, but also with the participation of the United States proved to be a failure.
This year Forum will decide organizational and functional design of “quartet”. Experts believe that design of “quartet” will be very similar to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) with only difference Moscow plays the leading role in the SCTO while Beijing will take the lead in the new regional counterterrorism structure.
