On 2 October 2018, the UN Headquarters in New York hosted a special high-level meeting, Preventive Diplomacy and the Changing Landscape of Modern Conflicts: the Role of Regional Organisations. The event was organised by the OSCE High Commissioner in cooperation with the Italian Mission to the UN (Italy is holding the OSCE Presidency in 2018-2019). The meeting was attended by a delegation of the SCO Secretariat under SCO Deputy Secretary-General Vladimir Potapenko.
In his speech, Mr Potapenko dwelt on the consistent steps and measures being taken by the SCO member states to prevent and fight modern challenges and threats. Specifically, he drew the audience's attention to the documents approved at the SCO Summit in Qingdao (June 2018). These are: Programme of Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2019-2021; Anti-Drug Strategy until 2023; Joint Appeal by the Heads of the SCO Member States to Youth and the Programme of Action, calling for a greater focus on promoting the spiritual and moral education of younger generations.
"In its fight against modern challenges and threats, the SCO is actively cooperating with the UN and the regional organisations concerned. We are convinced that the synergic effect of deeper interaction between international structures in a wide range of fields will help address the acutest modern problems," Mr Potapenko said.
The engaged discussion revealed common anxiety over the growing challenges and threats and reaffirmed the common desire of regional organisations to fight them through collective efforts.
The high-level meeting at the UN Headquarters became a logical continuation of the high-level interactive dialogue between the UN Secretary-General and the heads of regional organisations, which took place in New York on 12-13 June, 2018.