On 30 November 2019, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov had a meeting with Communist Party Secretary of Yunnan Chen Hao ahead of the 4th SCO Kunming Marathon.
The meeting was attended by Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People's Republic of China Vikram Misri (India), Gabit Koishibayev (Kazakhstan), Bakhtiyor Saidov (Uzbekistan), Akram Zeynalli (Azerbaijan), Leela Mani Paudyal (Nepal), Abdulkadir Emin Onen (Turkey) and Karunasena Kodituwakku (Sri Lanka), as well as Director of the State Agency for Youth Affairs, Physical Culture and Sports of Kyrgyzstan Kanat Amankulov, permanent representatives at the SCO Secretariat and diplomats from the SCO countries.
Mr Chen Hao thanked those present for attending the meeting and informed them about the achievements of the Yunnan Province in trade, the economy, tourism and education, in particular in the production of ferrous metals, agricultural products and flowers.
The Communist Party Secretary of Yunnan also told those present how the province had changed thanks to the policy of reform and openness. Over the past 40 years, the per capita income in the province has increased from 46 yuan to 30,000 yuan, or by 2000 times, and the gross regional product has risen from $20 billion to $2 trillion.
Vice-Governor of Yunnan Province Chen Shun noted that the number of tourists visiting Yunnan and Kunming had soared thanks to the Kunming Marathon. He added that cutting-edge tourism and service technologies, as well as online guides and special tourism applications were available in Yunnan.
Speaking on behalf of delegation heads, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov thanked Mr Chen Hao for the warm welcome and hospitality. He spoke highly of the Yunnan Province's potential in trade and economic development and pointed out the SCO's interest in developing ties with Yunnan in the fields of tourism, education and agriculture within the framework of interregional cooperation.
"Kunming has become a city where sports and tourism are combined. Modern infrastructure, cutting-edge technology and the special attitude of the locals to sports have made the city even more attractive and have improved its image," Vladimir Norov noted.
He added that the Yunnan Province had made a solid contribution to the development of cultural and humanitarian cooperation within the SCO and that the SCO Kunming Marathon had attracted 49,900 participants over the past three years and had become a really massive event. "Kunming has coped with its mission successfully by becoming visitor-friendly. I would like to point out that holding a large-scale annual international event such as the Kunming Marathon would have been impossible without the assistance of the authorities of the Yunnan Province and its administrative centre, Kunming," the SCO Secretary-General enthused.
He also said that he greatly appreciated the efficiency of the SCO-China Centre for Youth Exchanges at Kunming University.
The heads of delegations attending the meeting shared their impressions of Kunming and Yunnan and their views on the strengthening of bilateral and multilateral ties.