DUSHANBE, Sept. 13 -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its 14th summit here Friday and formulated a development blueprint aimed at regional stability and common prosperity.

In a joint declaration, the six SCO members pledged further concerted efforts to safeguard the security and stability of the region and tackle global challenges on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual trust.

They also vowed to expand collaboration in political, economic and cultural areas, and build the region of the SCO into a place of lasting peace, friendship, good-neighborliness, prosperity and harmony.

"It is our common responsibility and mission to bring more security and benefit to the SCO member states and their people," Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the Dushanbe summit.

For the further development of the bloc, which groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Xi put forward a four-point proposal.

First, the Chinese president called on the SCO members to take it as their own responsibility to safeguard regional security and stability.

The SCO members, he suggested, should focus on combating religion-involved extremism and cyber-terrorism, continue to boost cooperation on law enforcement and security, and jointly crack down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

Second, the SCO member states should adhere to the goal of common development and prosperity, added the Chinese leader, calling for more extensive and higher-level cooperation in trade and investment.

He also called on the six countries to enact an SCO partnership plan in science and technology, and to speed up the building of an information sharing platform on environment protection.

Third, all SCO members need to comprehensively promote people-to-people exchanges, Xi said, suggesting that they strengthen capacity-building on international communication, enhance media cooperation, and support personnel training in the fields of public policy, administration and judiciary.

Fourth, the SCO should expand external exchanges and cooperation, Xi said, calling for broader cooperation between the SCO's members and observers as well as more communication with its dialogue partners.

The SCO now has Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers, and Belarus, Sri Lanka and Turkey as dialogue partners.

Meanwhile, Xi said that the SCO should cement cooperation with international and regional organizations, and that all member countries, observers and dialogue partners are welcome to vigorously participate in the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and promote regional connectivity.

Noting that the SCO is facing significant opportunities and bright prospects, Xi stressed that the member states "should stick to the 'Shanghai Spirit' of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and pursuit of common development."

"We should join hands to deal with threats and challenges with the strength of unity and cooperation and jointly push forward SCO's development," he said.