SCO Secretary-General meets with CTO Under-Secretary-General

On 20 September 2017, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov met with Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov on the sidelines of the general debate of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting was also attended by SCO Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS) Director Yevgeny Sysoyev.

Mr Voronkov noted the SCO's important role in preserving peace, stability and security in the region, SCO member states' achievements and initiatives in combating terrorism and extremism, and cooperation of the competent agencies in organising a wide range of joint events in the SCO RATS framework. He also spoke in favour of expanding cooperation between the UN and regional organisations in this area, and called the SCO one of the priority agencies for the new office, taking into account the organisation's geography.

Mr Alimov congratulated Mr Voronkov on his "high appointment" and expressed his conviction that the Under-Secretary-General's personal contribution "to coordinating the work of the new office will be praised by the UN member states."

The SCO Secretary-General spoke about the results of cooperation between the SCO member states in antiterrorism, emphasising that "their efforts are aimed at implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and at the need to implement all its four pillars in a comprehensive and balanced way." Mr Alimov updated Mr Voronkov on the results of the Astana summit, in particular, the adoption of the Statement by the SCO Heads of State on Joint Counteraction to International Terrorism and the Convention on Countering Extremism. Mr Alimov noted that "the SCO and its RATS are open for dialogue and cooperation with specialised organisations and counterterrorism structures," and stressed the importance of establishing close contact with the UN Counter-Terrorism Office as a priority.