On 5 to 6 September, Moscow hosted the 2nd high-level International Conference on Countering Illicit Arms Trafficking in the Context of Fighting International Terrorism.
The event was attended by representatives of security agencies, diplomatic circles and expert communities from 30 countries, as well as counter-terrorism divisions of international organisations, including the UN, SCO, CSTO, CIS, and OSCE.
Speaking at the conference, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Nurlan Akkoshkarov delivered a message of greetings from SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov. The message noted that the SCO had focused on combating all forms of funding of terrorism since the establishment of the Organisation. It laid special emphasis on the need to improve the monitoring and countering the shadow arms market in the modern information space. It stressed the SCO's readiness to cooperate with related international agencies, including divisions of the UN, as well as regional associations in order to coordinate the fight against terrorism and trans-border drug and arms trafficking. It pointed out the importance of implementing the SCO-Afghanistan roadmap and the SCO Anti-Drug Strategy for 2018-2023 to prevent the financing of terrorist activities based on drug trafficking revenues.
The leading speakers were Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNODC Executive Director Yuri Fedotov, head of the FSB Service for Intelligence Information and International Relations Sergei Beseda, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Sergei Istrakov, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Financial Regulation (Rosfinmonitoring) Alexander Klimenchenok, head of the CIS Anti-Terrorist Centre Andrei Novikov, and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS Jumakhon Giyosov. Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Oleg Syromolotov was the moderator.
The first high-level International Conference on Countering Illicit Arms Trafficking in the Context of Fighting International Terrorism was held on 3-4 September 2018.
The goal of the event was to analyse how to block the channels for financial and material supplies to terrorist groups in seats of regional and local conflicts.