On 19 July 2019, representatives of the SCO Secretariat and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee met at the UN headquarters in New York. During the meeting they discussed cooperation between the two organisations.
SCO Secretariat adviser Habib Munir noted that the SCO has developed the required legal foundation for full-scale anti-terrorism cooperation both on the political and practical levels. "The SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) are open to dialogue and cooperation with relevant organisations and anti-terrorism institutions. The SCO places special emphasis on cooperating with the Counterterrorism Committee on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding with RATS signed in October 2018," the SCO Secretariat representative said.
Muhammad Rafiuddin Shah, head of policy and coordination at the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, noted that the Committee is interested in long-term cooperation with the SCO and its counterterrorism structure involving the sharing of information to combat terrorism, extremism and separatism.
The parties expressed readiness to further consolidate relations with the aim of implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and UN Security Council recommendations, as well as promoting deeper cooperation between the two structures, including joint activities.
The atmosphere of the meeting was warm and friendly.