On 19 April 2019, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov had a meeting with the Director of Uzbekistan's Public Diplomacy Centre Senator Rakhmatulla Nazarov and General Secretary of China's SCO Committee on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation Zheng Wei.
During the event Vladimir Norov emphasised the important role of public diplomacy and public organisations in deepening the friendly and mutually advantageous cooperation within the SCO and the promotion of the Shanghai spirit principles.
The Secretary-General expressed the Secretariat's interest in carrying out joint projects aimed at the development of cultural and humanitarian ties, enhancement of the SCO image in the information space, growth of tourism and various educational programmes for young people. Specifically, he underscored the relevance of playing interactive games such as Model SCO and Leader of the 21st Century at higher educational institutions of the SCO member states and developing a volunteer movement at the SCO Secretariat's Youth League.
Head of Uzbekistan's Public Diplomacy Centre Rakhmatulla Nazarov spoke about the activities scheduled for 2019, in particular about the plans to arrange exchange visits between the friendship and public diplomacy organisations of the SCO member states and conduct cultural events. He pointed out that the recent World Through the Eyes of Children exhibition of children's drawings held by the Centre in Tashkent on 12-15 March 2019 attracted great public attention in the SCO countries and displayed a wonderful collection of works by children.
In turn, Head of the Chinese SCO Committee on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation Ms Zheng Wei stressed the importance of maintaining close contacts with the Secretariat and spoke about the activities planned by her Committee in the field of education and healthcare, such as the Medical Innovations Forum, Forum on Preschool Education and others.
The meeting proceeded in a warm and friendly manner.