SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov and Director of the SCO RATS Executive Committee Yevgeny Sysoyev met with Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov and Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Natalia Gherman on the sidelines of a conference devoted to fighting terrorism, extremism and separatism. The meeting took place in Tashkent on 31 October.
The SCO Secretary General briefed the participants on the outcome of the summit in Qingdao, focusing on the documents and decisions adopted by the leaders of the member states regarding the SCO member states' joint steps to counter terrorism and extremism.
Mr Alimov emphasised the SCO leaders' commitment to "efforts to promote the creation of a single global anti-terrorism front based on international law and without politicisation and double standards, that must be carried out with the central coordinating role of the UN." Alimov also noted that "the SCO member states were in favour of reaching a consensus on adopting a comprehensive UN convention against international terrorism based on its Charter and other UN documents."
Citing the joint position of the heads of the SCO member states as set forth in the Qingdao Declaration, the SCO Secretary General said: "UN efforts to ensure international peace and security will always have strong support from the SCO."
The participants welcomed the holding of a joint SCO and UN meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in late November, and emphasised their interest in stepping up cooperation based on earlier signed documents.
The meeting was held in a constructive and warm atmosphere.