On 12 April 2019, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov met with Austrian Ambassador to the UN Alexander Marschick and Austrian Ambassador to China Friedrich Stift at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing.
Mr Marschik praised the SCO's activities in the area of regional security and stability and expressed an interest in having information on practical aspects of SCO activities in various fields, given that the Organisation had achieved much success in maintaining peace, stability and security in the Greater Eurasian space.
Mr Norov briefed his guests on the Organisation's aims and goals. He stressed that the SCO was working to achieve its statutory goals and operating on the basis of consensus in all fields, ensuring total equality of all member-states regardless of their potential, capabilities and culture. "The SCO is practicing an open and non-directional approach to other states and international organisations," he said, adding that the SCO was not a military bloc and that its military wing was aimed exclusively at fighting terrorism.
He also informed his Austrian colleague about SCO activities, specifically its fight against the "three forces of evil," namely, terrorism, separatism and extremism. He also focused on economic and cultural cooperation and contacts with international organisations, including the UN and its agencies.
The Austrian diplomats expressed an interest in studying how the SCO was developing since its expansion in 2017. In his turn, Mr Norov noted that after the accession of India and Pakistan, the SCO became truly transcontinental and the world's biggest regional organisation in terms of its combined population potential, territory and GDP. The Organisation is building up its capabilities, something that makes it possible to energise regional cooperation.
The parties also exchanged views on topical international issues.
The meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere.