On 25 November 2019, on the eve of a meeting of the Paris Pact Initiative expert group in Shanghai, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Xie Xiaoyong met with Paris Pact Coordinator Ms Marie-Anne Menier.
Xie Xiaoyong warmly greeted Ms Menier and noted that "the SCO has held joint events with the Paris Pact Initiative for a second year running to eradicate the drug evil."
"Countering drug trafficking is of primary importance for the SCO. We attach special importance to our close coordination with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Paris Pact Programme," Mr Xie said.
In turn, Ms Menier thanked the SCO for its assistance in organising a regular meeting of the Paris Pact Initiative on 26-28 November of the next year. It will take place at the SCO Centre of International Legal Education and Cooperation at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
"The professional and responsible approach of the SCO Secretariat team to preparing for this event sets high standards for us in the future. Obviously, the SCO is one of our major partners because our views coincide and we pursue the same aims of curbing drug trafficking from Afghanistan," Ms Menier said.
During the conversation, the officials also exchanged views on the new trends related to drug trafficking and prospects for expanding cooperation between the SCO Secretariat and the Paris Pact Office.
The Paris Pact Initiative is one of the leading international programmes on countering the trafficking of Afghan opiates. It emerged on the basis of the Paris Statement signed at the Ministerial Conference on Drug Routes from Central Asia to Europe in May 2003.
The SCO is one of the programme's 23 partners. The first joint meeting of the SCO and the Paris Pact Initiative's high-level experts was held on 13-15 November 2018 in Beijing. It was attended by representatives of competent bodies from the participating countries and international organisations.