On 17 September 2019, a Russian-chaired meeting of the SCO Council of National Coordinators opened at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing.
Opening the meeting, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov noted the successful June 2019 SCO Heads of State Council (HSC) Meeting in Bishkek. "A substantial package of documents was signed at the summit, the heads of our states and the expert community praised its results. Valuable initiatives aiming to further expand our diverse cooperation were voiced. We will have to work hard to make them a reality," he noted.
Mr Norov supported top priorities of Russia's Presidency of the SCO in 2019-2020. These tasks aim to further consolidate SCO member-states, to deepen foreign policy coordination, to chart agreed-upon measures for countering greater security, political and economic risks and to increase the SCO's prestige and authority regarding international affairs.
During their meeting, due to end on 20 September 2019, national coordinators are to focus on preparing and holding a regular SCO Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) Council (HGC) Meeting in early November 2019 in Tashkent, as well as other aspects of current SCO activities.
The Nur-Sultan Hall opened in an impressive setting at the SCO Secretariat in the run-up to the meeting. The SCO Secretary-General, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the People's Republic of China, national coordinators, permanent representatives, officials from diplomatic missions of SCO member states and the SCO Secretariat attended the opening ceremony.