On 17 October, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov met with Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, President of the All-China Women's Federation and General Secretary of China's SCO Committee on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation Shen Yueyue in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Vladimir Norov congratulated Ms Shen Yueyue on the recent 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's Republic and pointed out that over such a historically short period China has achieved enormous success in its socioeconomic development thanks to the diligence of the Chinese people, wisdom of its leaders and effectiveness of its reforms.
The Secretary-General placed special emphasis on the role of women in the establishment and development of present-day China and commended the scale of the work performed at the government level to improve the status of women and girls as well to protect and fulfil their rights.
"The Chinese experience in its work with women should be studied thoroughly and applied in the SCO countries. The SCO Secretariat is going to carry out practical work with the All-China Women's Federation in this area. We are interested in the specific projects implemented by the
Federation in healthcare, education and women's entrepreneurship," stressed the Secretary-General.
He stated that thanks to the initiatives by SCO member states and the engagement of the corresponding women's movements and organisations, the SCO has been making efforts in recent years to develop women's cooperation. The SCO women's forums held in Beijing in May 2018 and in Bishkek in 2019 have shown women's interest in consolidating efforts to promote regional cooperation, strengthen the Shanghai Spirit and establish cooperation on gender issues within the SCO framework. In this respect, Vladimir Norov noted the importance of institutionalising the forum and providing a mechanism for cooperation between women's organisations within the SCO for the sake of system-wide and effective work and women's active involvement in the socioeconomic development of the SCO countries.
He also informed Shen Yueyue about the upcoming meeting of the SCO Heads of Government Council as well as about the results of his participation in the debates held at a UN Security Council meeting on UN cooperation with regional organisations.
Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China and President of the All-China Women's Federation Shen Yueyue expressed her appreciation for the interest in aspects of China's development and underscored the significant role that the SCO is playing in maintaining peace and stability in the region.
She pointed out the importance of developing trade, economic and cultural cooperation within the SCO, and promoting the Shanghai Spirit and the effective use of people's diplomacy in the SCO countries.
In addition, Ms Shen Yueyue noted the expediency of developing practical cooperation in medicine within the SCO, implementing the project to create an international medical pilot zone in Fangchenggang and holding a forum on traditional medicine in 2020.
They also discussed the possibility of conducting joint activities to mark the 25th anniversary of the World Conference on Women in Beijing and the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action.
The meeting was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere.